The riddles
by Sternschnuppe3378
Summary: Jane and Maura meet two years after leaving Boston in order to solve a mysterious case about a group called the riddles.
1. Chapter 1

An inexpected encounter

_What do you mean by I have to wait? The senator ordered me here. Pronto. Now I certainly didn't hurry up and left everything behind to sit and wait…_

The Senator and Maura turned their head towards the door. Maura froze. She knew that voice all too well even though she hadn't heard it in a long time.

The senator smiled:_ I guess your Partner has just arrived. _

The door flew open and Jane walked into the room, followed by a nervous secretary.

_Excuse me Mr. Williams but…_

Its ok. The senator said and pointed to a chair next to Maura in front of his huge desk.

_I see you haven't lost your charm at Quantico _he said and smiled like only politicians can_. Please Mrs. Rizzoli have a seat. _

Jane startled at the view of Maura sat down on the offered chair. _Maura! _The tall brunette exclaimed und her breath. I'll be damned! Since when are you back from Paris?

_I'm actually not… _the blonde woman explained. Soon interrupted by the senator.

_So, as I've mentioned to Dr. Isles, this is a very delicate story. And I only want the best to solve it. _

Jane chuckled. _By that you mean us? I mean don't get me wrong. We are the best. But none of us has been in the field for almost two years._

_I am very aware of that Detective Rizzoli, but I know that you worked well as a team and you have lots of experience. Moreover, you know the precinct and the town were the incident happened. So, you are my first choice. I've already arranged for two rooms, a rental and a plane for you to go to Boston. Have a good Journey ladies. _

Jane was just about to reply something rude, as Maura stood up, shook the senator's hand and promised that they would do their best. With that she dragged the tall brunette out of the office.

The secretary looked at Jane in mischief and instructed them to meet their car at the main entrance.

_Where is my luggage?_ Jane demanded to know.

_It is already in the car._ the secretary replied dryly.

Maura calmed her friend down again. _Let's go_ she murmured and went ahead followed by an angry Jane.

The car turned out to be the senator's limousine and brought them straight to a small Learjet, sitting on a tarmac at Washington international airport. Once settled in their seats Maura glanced at Jane who was looking out of the small window of the plane. _First class_ she mumbled as she watched an Airbus A380 passing by. Her friend was still as beautiful as ever, the ME thought. Maura hadn't seen her since Paris. She had to admit that she had always admired Janes long legs and her lean body. And she became aware of the fact that she had also missed that temper and that fire.

With Jane it had always been exciting and fun. Unlike her life in Paris, which seemed to be dull and boring. And maybe lonely too as Maura realized. She now worked as a professor at the most famous University of France – the Sorbonne, teaching students about forensic science. She liked the job, but still missed working in the morgue, solving cases. That's why she felt so excited about this Job. Back to the field. Hurray! and she couldn't wait to work with Jane again.

Maura brushed away her thoughts as Janes voice drifted to her consciousness.

_Maura!?_

_Yes Jane?_

_Are you ok? _

_Sure. Sure._ Maura smiled. _I'm just tired. I already flew in from Paris. The flight took almost 13 hours! Such a shame that the Concorde is not flying anymore. Did you know, that with the Concorde the flight from Paris to New York only took 4,5 hours?_

Jane looked at her puzzled. _Actually no I didn't. you haven't changed in Paris either do you?_ The brunette chuckled and Maura rolled her eyes theatrically. Damn how she had missed that joking around with her former partner. She fell a sleep with a smile on her face. This was going to be good.

Maura slept throughout most of the flight. When she woke up she found Jane with some big headphones on, staring on the television screen in the front of the plane. The movie she was watching seemed to be very funny because she kept chuckling and laughing. After seven years of friendship Mauro knew very well, that Jane bite her fingernails with horror movies and thrillers. Funny movies made her chuckle. Like as she did now.

She used the opportunity to glance at Jane again. Her mind a little bit more troubled now when thinking back to their last contact. After Maura had left for Paris, Jane had decided to come with her for two weeks before heading off to Quantico. Somehow it had felt like a goodbye to all of them she guessed. Maura didn't know what happened, but they started to fight instead of enjoying their last days together before their new lives started. At the end Jane hat smashed the door after a fight and literally flown out of her life. She couldn't even remember what the fight had been about. But she remembered the pain she felt that moment and after that.

She had done what she could best in these situations: ditched herself into the work. After her first ten month the director of the university had offered her to stay longer than the planned year. Thinking of how Jane was in Quantico and probably not many people waiting in Boston for her, she had decided to accept the offer.

She asked herself, whether they should talk about Paris or if it was better to leave it alone and try to start new. Honestly, she didn't know. Usually Jane evaded these talks anyway. And bringing it up could reignite the fight, which Maura didn't really want. So, she decided to leave it alone. So far, they seemed to be their old selves anyway.

After arriving at Boston, they got their rental. We will probably need two cars Maura thought. But we will take care of that later. The rental turned out to be an old Ford Pickup in some undefinable color and a smell as if something had died inside. But their rooms where actually very nice. They found a huge pile of files in one of the rooms. And an unknown Agent was surveying them with eagle eyes.

_Remember ladies_ ,he said with a very serious look on his face, _this is all confidential. Here is my card. Please let me know if you need more information or stuff. _

_Which room do you want to have?_ Jane asked with a serious expression on her face. Maura smirked and pointed out that she didn't care as both rooms were identical and right next to each other. Jane smiled and said, that she would prefer the room with the view on the pyramids. Maura rolled her eyes again and ended up laughing. She showed her partner out of the room, so that she could shower and make herself ready for grabbing some food.

No drama so far. So good. She thought. She felt tired as hell. But the case couldn't wait. So, after some food and some coffee they would start reading through the files.

Jane and Maura found a nice Restaurant right down the street. The meal was delicious. Even though Maura already missed the French cooking. There was not much talk while they ate because they both felt exhausted. After their meal, they wandered silently through some streets.

How strange it felt to be back Maura thought. She wondered if Jane felt the same. She couldn't believe that she actually had once lived here and how quickly she had obviously adjusted to a completely different culture.

She fondly remembered Boston in Winter, covered in snow. It had been wonderful.

Back to the hotel she saw Jane scribbling into a notebook.

_What are you writing?_ Maura asked

_That we need a coffee machine in our room. Urgently!_

Maura smiled: _yes. You are right. Did you know that the best coffee is grown in Columbia and that…_

As Maura saw Janes tired eyes, she stopped her monologue and sat down on the bed.

_Maybe we should take a good night's sleep and read the files tomorrow morning?_ She suggested.

Jane just nodded and left for her room after wishing Maura a good night. It wasn't long before Maura herself fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

2\. The crime

* * *

Jane awoke to some strange noise. It took a while till she realized where she was and what had happened. Groaning she reached for her mobile on the nightstand. It was 4:36. More groaning as she rolled on her back. She needed more Pillows. Another point on the order list as she called it.

So here I am she thought. Back to where I had started all these years ago. She asked herself about this mysterious incident as the senator had called it, which had brought her back to Boston and back to Maura. A person she had been so close to until Paris. A person she had thought she d never see again. She felt confused and a little bit anxious after meeting her again.

More groaning as she got off the bed to do some stretching in order to prevent her thoughts from wandering off to where they had been so often in the last two years. To where they shouldn't be she thought. Maura smiling at her in the plane…..

After finishing her exercise, she took a long shower and started to think about the case again. She deducted that it either had to be very important or very shitty because of the secret the senator wanted it to be. So secret, that she wasn't even allowed to call her Ma and see her. Jane scratched her head. The more she thought about it the more interested she became.

It had been stupid to leave all files at Maura's place. Otherwise she could have started reading through the them now. Jane hesitated, thinking… Maybe the blonde was already awake too? She decided to give it a shot and texted Maura.

Hey, are you awake?

She was surprised when her phone buzzed shortly after sending the message, announcing an answer.

Hi, yes. Wanna come over?

Jane started to text back, but finally found it ridiculous. She shut down her phone and went directly next door.

_Good morning_, she said after Maura had let her in and Jane tried to smile as she still wasn't sure if they were okay. Maura looked exhausted but replied the friendly greeting.

They both settled on Maura's bed, which was still warm. Each took some files and started to read.

Janes eyes wandered secretly to Maura from time to time, who sat quietly and who concentrated on the papers in her hand. She seemed to be relaxed. The brunette wondered if she d ever bring up the last days in Paris. Part of her wanted to talk about it. Part of her didn't. Jane asked herself if Maura was feeling the same

Yesterday had been a crazy day for sure. Jane remembered the phone call while teaching some students. She hadn't picked up the phone. Hadn't even glanced at it and ignored the constant buzzing in her pocket. The break was only 10 minutes away. She had planned on checking the missed calls then, figuring that it would be ok. 10 minutes….

But then a colleague had arrived and asked her to check her phone immediately. Some senator had an important message, he told her. From then on it was just running… running to her room, throwing some stuff into her duffle bag, running to the airport catching a flight to Washington, running to the senator's office...

It had really startled her to see Maura. She was relieved that the blonde didn't seem to be mad or anything. But that didn't mean that it would make things easier. At least not for herself, Jane thought.

Jane tried to brush her thoughts away again and tried to focus on the files. Basically, these contained not much information. A female body had been found hanging upside down on a cross in a park. She hadn't been identified yet. And of course, there were no witnesses. Not much to go from so far, she noticed.

When she opened an envelope some newspaper articles fell out. As they seemed very old, Jane checked for the dates first.

Now that's interesting she thought. The first article was from 1945 and told the story of an unknown woman found hanging upside down on a cross in a field. The second one dated from 1970 and was about the same subject. Without mentioning, that this had happened before. Maybe the detectives in the 70th hadn't known about the first incident. The third article had the same content and was from 1995. Also not mentioning that it had already happened two times before. But the pictures showed all the same scenery.

I'll be damned she muttered, and Maura instantly stopped reading to look at her. Jane explained what she had just found out. Showing the articles to the blonde.

_But I still don't get why making such a fuss of hiding about it._ The brunette said.

Maura chewed on her lips._ I don't know either Jane_, she said. _Maybe we ll find more clues in the other files. _

_Yeah. Hopefully. _

They continued reading in silence wondering what they were brought into.

_Can one person do such a thing alone?_ Jane asked Maura while they were having breakfast later.

_No_, Maura replied. _Well it's not completely impossible. But…_

_But? _

_You know I don't speculate._ Maura said with a serious expression on her face. Jane rolled her eyes. No, the blonde hadn't changed in Paris at all. She had a vision of many students leaving Maura's classes to become Medical examiners saying: you know, I don't speculate. The poor cops the brunette thought and chuckled.

_What?_ She heard Maura say. _You look like you saw something horrible._

You have no idea how close you are. Jane thought and chuckled.

_It's uhm nothing_. she answered instead. _Its all right._

_So, what's the smirk on your face then?_ The blonde wanted to know.

_It was really nothing._ She replied. _Don't worry._

_Ok, so if you might know. It obviously looks like a ritual. If one person did it, it must be a very strong person. Probably the Person was attached to the cross before putting it into the upright position. Because the crosses were always standing in the middle of nowhere. And I can hardly imagine another way of bringing the corpse onto the cross, when the cross is already standing_. Maura spoke up after more reading.

Jane chuckled. _You mean that it wouldn't have worked with a ladder?_

Maura looked irritated at first, but then caught the joke and started to laugh. _No! definitely not._

_Besides_, the blonde continued seriously in her typical manner_, if it was one person who had done it all, it would be very old now, wouldn't it? We re talking about a time span of almost 100 years. _

Jane nodded as she chewed on the last bite of her roll.

_So, the senator or somebody must know more about it. There must be a reason why it is all kept in secret._ The brunette continued.

_Well we still have some more files to read._ Maura pointed out again.

_Sure. But I still have the feeling, that they don't give us all the information. Only bits and pieces. _

Maura thought about it for a while. And now it was her turn to nod.

_I agree with you Jane. _

_Anything about the cause of death yet? _

_Not really. I can see from the pictures that their chest had been opened on the left side. But again. I don't speculate. _

Jane rolled her eyes. _I see_. She stated.

_The reports of the medical examinations are missing in the files. So, whenever you call your friend to order the coffee machine you should ask him about them. _Maura winked smiling with her eyes_. _

The brunette groaned. _He is definitely not my friend believe me._ But I'm going to be nice when I ask.

_So, no Jane Charm uhhh?_

They both chuckled and Jane felt relieved that somehow everything seemed to be ok between them. Almost like in old times she thought and realized that she enjoyed that.

_I missed you._ Damn, Jane froze. had she just said that loud?

She glanced to Maura who had an odd look on her face. This was a big mistake the brunette thought and cringed.

_I missed working with you too._ Maura replied without showing emotions.

Jane very well caught the sentence: working with you. It hurt her. Hello darkness my old friend…. She thought. So, it wasn't like in old times after all.

They spent the rest of the noon reading in silence and taking notes.

The coffee machine was delivered by midday. Together with some burgers. Jane couldn't help but feel incarcerated. She could feel some tension between her and the other woman. No more joking had occurred since her remark about missing Maura. She cringed again, when realizing that she had spoiled the relaxed atmosphere. Suddenly she felt tired. Of course, they could work well together like professionals. But it would be much nicer with a little bit of teasing and fun. But something had happened in Paris or maybe even before Paris, which made them feel very uncomfortable with each other. Maybe they should really talk about it, Jane thought. But about what exactly?

After lunch both went for a little nap. They would later meet again to discuss their case so far. Unfortunately, there was not much knowledge to discuss about. And the files from the medical examiners where still missing. Basically, she asked herself what they were supposed to do. What they could do. With what they had, they couldn't do much anyway.

Later in the afternoon, Jane was awoken by a soft knock on her door.

_Come in!_ she called.

_Jane, you should really look the door or at least ask who's there_. Maura stated when entering the room.

The brunette felt soar and grumpy and gave a snorting reply.

_Well how is Mr. FBI supposed to come in then?_ Jane then said as a joke. She immediately felt sorry for being such an ass and said so when seeing the hurt expression on her former friend's face. Maura nodded.

_I get it. You try to be funny again. You always do that when you're under stress. At least I hope that its about that and not making fun of me._

Now Jane thought about what that was supposed to mean. She decided to better not think to much about it. They were both still tired and that's probably why they started to get shitty. The brunette got off the bed and made coffee for both of them.

Maura looked really grateful as she took the hot cup out of Janes hand.

Both women talked a while about what they knew and their thoughts. The blonde had found the name of the medical examiner of body number three in some file and attempted to contact him. He was 78 years old now. He invited them to come by the next day to talk about the case. It turned out, that his memory wasn't so good anymore. But as the case had been a very strange one he had kept a copy of his report.

That really sounds promising. Jane said as she stood up and stretched. It was definitely time for a run. Incarcerated or not, her body needed some workout. She invited Maura to join her. And was surprised when Maura accepted.

Despite claiming that she wasn't in shape, Maura ran so fast, that Jane almost had problems to keep up with her.

_Don't you ever say that you re in bad shape again_ she complained to the blond when they finally finished their workout.

Maura smiled and patted Janes shoulder. _Looks like we re going to be here for a while. You'll see, when we leave you ll be in bad shape too._ The blonde chuckled as she went towards her door.

_Are you going to break down on the pavement now, or are you coming?_ she asked playfully. Jane rolled her eyes and followed her to the first floor where their rooms were.

It hit Jane under the shower that their way of being together was very flirtatious. That's what her mother once had said. Back then, when they were all still living in Boston. She remembered when Angela had taken her aside back then.

_Janie, you know that you can tell me everything. You know that right? _

As always Jane had searched for the information which her mother might have gotten. It was hard to keep a secret from her. But never in the world had she expected Angela to ask her if she had a relationship with Maura. But she had then realized why some people might think that. All the hanging out together, the sleepovers their way of talking with each other….

She had told Angela back then, that they just had a very close friendship. Still under the shower, she pushed her arms against the wall of the shower thinking of how complicated it all was.

Anyway, her mother had never brought up the topic again. And Jane had never talked about it either.


	3. Chapter 3

3\. A family reunion

The next day, both women went off to see the Medical Examiner who had worked the case in 1970. Maura glanced over the nice one story house which was embedded in a beautiful garden. She had a feeling that she would like this man.

Jane pushed the bell under the name tag for the second time as no one answered.

_Maybe he has forgotten our appointment and went shopping._ She mused.

_Possible._ Maura said. But she didn't believe it for the man on the phone seemed to be excited and eager to talk about the case. She spotted a little window next to the door and tried to peak in.

_Now that's new. _Jane said behind her.

Maura made a shhht noise going to the next window. But the curtains where closed. Like all of the other curtains as they found out wandering around the house. _That's really suspicious_ Maura thought.

"_I start to have a bad feeling." _ the brunette stated. And Maura agreed.

"_Nooooo!"_ Maura exclaimed as she saw Jane reaching for the handle of the back door.

"_We have to go inside." The brunette muttered._ "_Maybe he had a heart attack and needs help…"_

Maura knew, that this was just pretense to intrude into the foreigner's home. Battling with herself about what was being right and her curiosity she finally followed her friend into the house as the door swung open. Instantly she took out some latex gloves from her purse and put them on. Even though she wasn't an ME anymore she kept the habit to have them in her purse. She also gave Jane some.

"_Can you smell it?"_ Jane asked. And Maura nodded.

She would always recognize the smell of blood.

"_My feeling just got worse"_ Jane said as she cautiously proceeded into the kitchen. The house was tidy and clean. No things lying around. As the kitchen was empty, they continued into the living room. Maura immediately spotted the body on the floor. A pool of blood surrounded the old man s head. Careful not to destroy any evidence Maura checked for a pulse. Then she shook her head looking at Jane. The man was dead. Rigor mortis was already setting in.

Jane nodded and was already calling the senator. Maura didn't hear the senator's response but could see on Janes face that he was not pleased.

"_We have to search for the ME report and then call the police"_ she stated_. "But under no circumstances are we allowed to tell about our case. As if we had anything to tell…. "_

Both women searched the house thoroughly for the copy of the report. Maura thought to herself, that the intruder must have found it before them. Anyway, it wasn't there anymore even though they both hadn't left a stone unturned. Whoever had done this obviously had no fear. Torturing the professor and then probably spending a lot of time in the house till he had found what he was looking for spoke for a coldblooded person. She asked herself what the hell was going on here.

"_Something really bad is happening here."_ Jane spoke out Maura's thoughts.

The first Police cars appeared about fifteen minutes after they had called the precinct. Jane brightened up as she saw Frankie walking towards them. His looked puzzled, as she had expected. Somehow, she felt guilty for not calling and telling him that she was in town_. I shouldn't have followed the senators order_, she thought and asked herself why she had done it anyway.

Jane felt proud of her little brother. Maura had to admit that he looked all grown up and professional in his suit. He had become a very handsome man she thought.

Now he stood in front of them. "_Janie? Maura?"_ He asked. In a movie he would have probably rubbed his eyes…. A tone of disbelief was showing in his voice, but he smiled.

They greeted him with joy. After hugging them he said: "_I can't believe it's really you guys_." Still puzzled. "_What are you doing here?"_

Jane chuckled and nudged him_. "I missed you. So, I thought I might find a body to see you again."_

"_Hell…"_ he muttered. "_You could have just called you know?_" He answered playing along his sisters' joke.

So, tell me!" her brother said when they had gone into the garden at the back of the house where supposedly no one could hear them.

Jane decided to ignore the senators order this time and informed Frankie about the ritual murders. And that they were asked to find the culprits before the next murder would happen. Maura told him how they had ended up finding a body.

"_So, you mean that we must cooperate?"_ Frankie asked in a serious manner with a little grin on his face, obviously excited.

"_Yes"_, Maura replied.

"_I guess this will be the first cooperation between the FBI and the BPD without fight, eh?"_ Jane said.

Frank nodded and grinned. "_I think so._ "

They looked to the backdoor where they had entered the house earlier that day, as a young man in a suit appeared who gave Frankie a waving sign to come to him. All three went over to the man who had a questioning look on his face.

"_Detective Brook let me introduce you to agent Rizzoli from the FBI and Dr. Maura Isles." _

Jane chuckled as she saw the detectives jaw drop. "_Agent Rizzoli?_" He asked and shook the brunettes hand. She greeted him with a nod. "_Rizzoli as in Frankie's sister."_ she replied.

"_I've heard a lot about you."_ The detective stated." _Only good things of course. They still talk about you at the precinct._" The man noted before shaking Maura's hand_." I've heard of you too Dr. Isles. Some very hard cases you solved in the old times. Shame that you left."_

"_Actually, we will now have the pleasure to work together."_ Frankie told his colleague whose mind lit up. _"That's my first case with the FBI he stated excited."_ Adding that he hadn't been so long on the crime unit.

"_Maura, have you examined the body yet?"_ Frankie asked changing the topic. "_Dr. Ivan is our ME, and you know how he is. Therefore, I would be glad to get your opinion."_

Maura hesitated giving Jane a questioning look_." I would actually like to do the autopsy myself._" She then said. "_Or at least participate in the autopsy, which should be possible as it is our case too."_

"_That would be really great!" _Frankie replied. "_I hoped you would say that."_

Maura nodded_. "I can already tell you, that the professor must have died somewhere in the night. Cause of death is probably blunt forced trauma. There is a hammer lying next to his head too. But I don't want to speculate. Ill give you more information after the autopsy._"

Frankie nodded. _Sounds good. "Dr. Ivan wants to perform the autopsy around 5pm. So if you re done you can leave."_

"_That's perfect."_ Jane and Maura agreed, checking their watches. It was 11 am. So, they would have time to have some coffee and do some more research.

Maura was confused but also excited. She would get to do the autopsy at her old working place later that day. She felt sad though that the old man, who had sounded so helpful and nice on the phone was dead.

"_It was nice seeing your brother again"_, the blonde said while they were sipping some coffee.

Jane agreed with sparkles in her eyes. "_Have you seen how he has grown up? Incredible!"_ Pride swinging in her voice.

Maura was silent as she asked herself if that meant that Jane hadn't seen him in a while. She decided not to ask, as the talk was already personal enough. After Paris she wanted to keep a certain distance in order to prevent some more fights.

The blonde understood that her feelings for Jane were part of the problems they had. She remembered giving signs to Jane which had gone unanswered for a long time. At first Maura had thought that it would be okay for her to just have friendship. But at the end it had all become to much. Seeing Jane every day at work and knowing that she couldn't have her, had driven her crazy. When Jane had told her that she had a job opening at Quantico, Maura had felt heartbroken. Of course, she supported her as a friend, but everything inside of her had screamed NO!

Finally, she had come to terms with it, accepting a job in Paris, putting as many miles as possible in between them. But also trying to get a new start herself.

She remembered the painful days in Paris, when Jane slept in her bed, and she wouldn't be able to touch her. It had made her angry when Jane seemed to ignore her advances to her. So, it had all started to get sour. They had both felt, that something was wrong, but instead of talking about it, they had started to entangle in childish games and fights, till Jane had left.

So, it was better for sure, not to get close again, Maura decided. Because she wouldn't be able to take the pain anymore.

Back in the hotel everybody went into their room. Maura prepared for the autopsy and studied the pictures from the newspaper articles while Jane searched for names of witnesses. Particularly those who had found the body in 1970.

Frankie swung by later that day to talk more about the case. They all sat in Janes room and discussed what they had found in the old man's house.

"_We have some fingerprints"_ Janes little brother stated. "b_ut we don't think that the intruder was so dumb as to leave some at the crime scene. As to Dr. Ivan the professor died at 10 pm yesterday evening of blunt force trauma._" He paused and watched Maura roll her eyes. He and Jane chuckled. "_He is willing to leave the autopsy to the unbelieving, his words not, mine."_ Frankie noted.

After Frankie had finished his summary of what they had found out so far, Jane told him about the fussing with secrets and that Maura and she believed that the senator was withholding information's. "_Something is very fishy here." _She concluded her statement and Frankie agreed.

All three of them finally drove to the precinct to perform the autopsy. Maura had some very mixed feelings, when she entered the building which had been a home for her for a long time. They were greeted by some people they knew from their past. But there were also many new people. The precinct was very busy, and it felt good to step into the calm elevator, driving down into the morgue.

The morgue hadn't changed much since she had left for Paris two years ago. Well she had put a lot of thought into organizing the morgue when she became chief. It was perfect. There would be no reason to change anything she mused proud of herself.

The autopsy went very smooth. X rays showed that the old man had been killed by blunt force trauma inflicted by the hammer, which was found right next to the body, as presumed. Maura estimated the time of death was between midnight and 2 in the morning. Now they had to wait for the results of the blood test. That unfortunately would take a few days.

They returned to the hotel around 11 pm after spending a nice evening with Frankie. Chatting away lightly. Maura had been surprised to learn that Jane and her brother really hadn't seen each other or talked much to each other since the brunette had left for Quantico. She had always thought that the Rizzoli clan was so close, that they would keep contact frequently.

Yet nothing seemed to be wrong with them. She had the feeling that Jane had withdrawn herself a little over the last years and wondered why.

Maura had also noticed that Jane consequently had evaded questions about her relationship status and any other sort of that question. Somehow, she would have liked to know herself. Not that it was any of her business. But Janes behavior was simply strange. And that made it even more interesting to Maura.

She figured that there must be someone because Jane had left the room several times when her phone had rung, and she kept checking her phone for messages. Jealousy hit her out of nowhere and she felt the pain in her chest. She had no right to be jealous right?

Back at the hotel, Maura couldn't resist any longer.

"_Detective brook seems to be interested in you."_ She stated as Jane took off her shoes.

Jane paused, startled. Wondering why Maura kept hinting that this and this person seemed to fall for her. It made her angry. "_What?"_ She asked trying to sound calm.

Maura repeated her statement even though she knew that it was a mistake. But she couldn't help.

Jane felt her anger rise_. "I'm sorry. But I'm getting tiered of you pointing out people who might be into me."_ She snatched. "_It feels like you're my mother! My love life is none of your business."_ Jane then left Maura's room, shaking a little as she opened the door to her own room.

Maura shifted in her bed but could not find a comfortable position. She suspected Jane to be gay but had never had the guts to ask her about it. Their friendship didn't function that way. Usually they didn't ask but relied on the fact that each one told when he was ready to tell.

It hurt Maura that Jane excluded her on that matter but at the same time she was glad. She certainly didn't want to know if Jane was gay and being in a relationship with another woman.

Of course, Jane had had relationship to men like Casey. But that didn't mean anything. If at all, these kinds of relationships gave more clues to her friend being gay. They always had been long distance and included far less touching and closeness as their friendship did.

She had a hard time finding some peace. Therefore, she sighed and decided to read some files to distract herself. Maybe this was all nonsense and irrational. Maura didn't like to be irrational.

Stop it! She ordered herself and tried to relax.


	4. Chapter 4

4\. A fight, a present and a date

Jane rubbed her head as it hurt. She had tried to talk Chris out of coming to Boston to see her. The conversation yesterday evening had ended in a fight with Chris hanging up on her. She had been accused of having an affair with Maura. Jane was sure that her on and off girlfriend was going to show up at the hotel and had decided to break up, if she did.

She also decided to come clear to Maura about being gay as she was tired off all these lies and games. She probably should have done that a long time ago. She hadn't because she hadn't really admitted to herself that she felt attracted to women. But it was the truth and she had known it since college. She simply felt too old for hiding and denying anymore.

These exact lies had led to her decision to go to Quantico where she had hoped to find herself. Away from her family, that loved her so much that they almost choked her. It had all been too much at the end. What she had actually found at Quantico was loneliness and a broken heart.

Probably she wouldn't tell Maura everything. But her friend needed to know that she was gay. She wouldn't tell her how much she had missed being close to her. How lost she had felt after leaving Boston.

But telling Maura could mean losing her again. But the lies would always separate them when not being spoken. At least they would kill herself. Maybe they stood a chance to work something out she thought.

Jane could just hope that her friend would take it well and that Maura wouldn't be mad at her. She didn't expect the blonde to reciprocate her feelings for her. In fact, she didn't know what to expect at all. But she knew somehow that she had to do it as soon as possible.

For the first time in a long time she got off the bed with a clear mind. Her headache almost gone; Jane knocked on Maura's door.

"_Hi." _

"_Hey" _the brunette answered the friendly greeting.

They ate breakfast without speaking in Maura's room. Each hanging on to their thoughts. Jane thought about telling Maura right away, when a knock on the door interrupted them. Jane rolled her eyes after she recognized Chris voice yelling: "_Open up! I know that you are in there!" _

"_I guess that's my call"_ Jane mumbled and got up to open the door. A very aggressive Chris suddenly stood in the middle of the room glancing at the unmade bed. The brunette tried to drag her out of the room.

"_Come on, let's talk outside."_ She said calmly. But her girlfriend wouldn't have it. Her eyes were fixed on Maura and she furiously yelled at the blonde sitting at the table. Jane prayed to god, that Maura wouldn't run out on her. But as it happened her friend just stayed put, looking at Chris with a serious face.

"_Come on",_ Jane tried again. But her girlfriend still wouldn't move. She saw Maura getting up from the chair and when she passed her friend, she patted her shoulder and made a remark that she would just leave so that they could talk in her room.

The last thing Maura heard when leaving the room was: "_stay here bitch!"_ But she had no intention of doing as demanded.

Fortunately, Jane hadn't picked up the habit to lock her door yet. So, Maura entered the room and sat down on a chair. She could hear that Chris was still yelling on the other side of the wall and pitied Jane whose voice was also to be heard as a mumble.

Maura wondered if her friend was used to that yelling for her being so calm. The blonde felt surprised that Jane could be so calm at all. She decided to distract herself by doing some research on her mobile whilst the thunderstorm was still raging in her own room. But she couldn't really concentrate. She couldn't help but listen to what was being said. Well obviously, she had been right about Janes sexuality she mused.

Maura tried not to think too much about her own feelings. But asked herself if she shouldn't go over again to help Jane. No, she thought. They are grownups. I have no right to mingle. I will only go over if I hear some furniture being tossed around.

The yelling finally stopped after a while and Maura was very thankful for that. But the silence that followed felt earie. Had one killed the other? Maura thought in a irrational moment, which was completely untypical for her.

Maura felt kind of relieved when she finally heard Janes mumbling voice again. After a while a door was slammed shut and it became silent.

The blonde decided to stay where she was, hoping for her friend to appear soon. But Jane didn't come. So, Maura decided to check up on her after half an hour or so.

She found Jane on her bed and could see that the tall woman had cried. It scared her for Jane had almost never cried in front of her. After making sure that the door was locked Maura went over to the bed and laid down beside Jane. "_Hey there,"_ she said softly and wiped a tear out of Janes face with her thumb. Without thinking what she was doing, Maura laid her head on Janes chest. She could hear that her friends' heart was bumping loud and fast. But after some minutes the pulse slowed down a little. It was not the first time that they had been so close, but it hit Maura for the first time how much she enjoyed and longed for it.

"I'm gay too." Jane. Maura whispered not daring to look the other in the eyes. "_And yes: I missed you too." _

She could hear how Janes heartbeat started to take on speed again and almost smiled at that feeling.

"_One day you are going to kill me Dr. Maura Isles."_ Jane muttered and they both suddenly started to giggle.

"_I'm serious."_ Jane said and bent down a little to give Maura a kiss on the forehead wondering what it all meant. But she honestly didn't care right now. She was happy and it felt good to be so close to Maura.

"_I hope not agent Rizzoli." _ The blonde replied and both started giggling again.

They stayed in that position for a while just enjoying the hug till they both fell asleep.

Jane woke up long before Maura. At first, she was stunned when she found Maura snuggled close to her. Then she remembered and started smiling. The brunette tried not to move in fear of waking the other woman, even though she had to use the bathroom. Suddenly she felt like a teenager who had butterflies in the stomach and giggled silently.

"_What's so funny?"_ Maura mumbled into her chest.

"_Nothing."_ Jane replied softly.

For a moment she felt scared. What would Maura's reaction be, when she became aware of what had happened? would she bail out?

"_Are we ok?"_ Jane asked after a while when her friend started to stir.

Maura looked up at her and smiled, still half asleep. "_Yes Jane, we are ok."_

Then Jane worked up all her courage and continued: "_are we still ok if I would ask you for a date?"_

Maura's heart jumped and her smile became wider as she replied: "_we would even be better than ok."_

Now Jane started to smile too, working up even more courage to ask: "_Can I uhhhm_ "

It was Maura who finally closed the distance between them and bent down till their lips touched. Jane had to do everything to prevent a moan coming out when Maura softly parted her lips and a tongue came looking for her own. _Life was good_ she thought and pulled Maura closer to her.

They probably would have continued kissing forever if not both phones had started ringing and buzzing on the nightstand.

Both women almost fell out of bed when they tried to reach for the phones.

Jane picked up her phone first

"_Detective Rizzoli." _

"_Jane Rizzoli!"_ Uh, Jane cringed when hearing her mothers voice on the other side. And she could tell that Angela was mad at her. But now she knew exactly why.

"_Ma!" _

"_How dare you come to Boston without telling me?"_

"_Shit!"_ Jane muttered and hoped that her mother hadn't heard it.

"_Ma, I was about to call you, I swear. But there is a lot going on right now."_ Jane saw Maura smiling at her which made her lighthearted.

And when would that have been? Angela demanded. But Jane could tell that her mother was about to calm down.

"_Soon. Very soon." _

"_Well. Thanksgiving is around the corner. I thought maybe that you would join us for family dinner. Then you can tell me all about who or what keeps you so busy." _

"_Sure."_ Jane answered and saw Maura motioning towards the door.

"_Shit Ma, I must go. Something happened. I will call you later ok?"_

"_All right Janie. But take care ok?"_

"_I will Ma. Bye."_

Maura grabbed the car keys before Jane could. The brunette rolled her eyes playfully to Maura's excitement. "_Come on Jane, you know that I can drive too."_

"_Yeah, I know. It's just that I love to drive." _But she gave in. she was happy to see her friend happy.

"_You wouldn't anyway know where to go because I have the information." _Maura teased her.

"_Okayyyy."_ Jane gave in once more.

Maura filled her in on the way to the precinct about the latest development in the case. Apparently, Frankie had called her about something which they needed to see. But left them with no further information.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

"_Are you going to tell Angela?"_ Maura interrupted Janes thoughts.

The brunette had just been trying to come up with a nice date. She wanted to impress her friend and make it unforgettable.

"_What?_" She almost shrieked. Maura seemed to be ahead of her.

"_Are you going to tell Angela about us?"_

"_I d rather not yet."_ Jane answered honestly. "_It's all so new, and I have to get used to it myself."_ she admitted.

Maura smiled. "_Yeah, your right. But you now, she will find out. She always finds out."_

Jane had to admit that Maura had hit a point there.

"_We will see."_ she muttered.

The precinct was buzzing as always. Some unknown officer followed them when they were walking straight to the elevator.

"_Hey ladies! You can't just walk to the elevator." _

"_As you see we can."_ Jane replied.

"_No, you can't!"_ the young officer stated.

"_Listen, I'm detective Rizzoli. I've been working here. I probably know the building better than you."_

Maura felt thankful when the elevator arrived, and Frankie finally ended the dispute.

"_Officer Paulson, this is my sister detective Rizzoli from the FBI and Dr. Maura Isles. They can pass whenever they want ok?"_

The young officers face turned red and she walked away.

"_You really haven't lost your charm"_ Maura whispered to Jane as they followed Frankie downstairs to the Lab. The brunette gave some rofl sound from her. And added: "_obviously some people fall for it."_ Maura chuckled. "_I can't imagine who_." she replied.

"_What's up with both of you?"_ Frankie asked turning around.

"_We are just in a good mood."_ Maura replied.

They became serious when entering the lab. Frankie pointed to a box on the table and told them, that the box had been delivered to the precinct earlier that day.

"_It was just left on one of the chairs in the waiting area he stated. Some officer is checking the video surveillance right now to see if we can find out who left us this nice little present. But as you can imagine its not an easy task with all the people coming and going." _

They approached the box and investigated it.

"_Nice!"_ Jane exclaimed.

"_Yeah right?"_ Frankie asked.

Maura looked to the content.

"_It's a heart from a pig _she stated. _"Either it had been kept in a freezer or it was cut out lately."_

All three of them looked at each other puzzled. What the hell was going on here? They asked themselves for the thousandth time. Nobody really knew the answer. But they knew, that they had to find out as quick as possible.

There was not much else. Just the heart. Jane started to feel angry. It was only bits and pieces. Nothing helpful to solve the case. She could tell that Frankie and Maura felt frustrated too.

Maura and Jane left the precinct and headed to the library in hope to get more information there because there was not much on the online sources. Maybe there would be more articles about the murders.

They got shhhhst several times by an old lady who pointed to a sign which read: No speaking!

So, Jane took out her notebook and started to scribble her comments on it. Maura read: _can't find anything. Do you?_

Maura shook her head.

After another pile of old newspapers, she scribbled again: _how about going on our date tonight?_

She had been thinking about it a lot. She just couldn't wait and felt like a teenager again.

The notebook passed on to Maura who read it in surprise. She had expected some other note about work. But then she smiled and searched her purse for something. Jane who figured that she was checking for a pen slipped hers over. Maura looked at her and their eyes locked.

It was as if a lightning stroke them.

Maura then smiled and wrote something on the paper.

Eager to read the answer Jane grabbed it as soon as her friend to be finished.

She read: yes. _Pick me up at 7pm. I hope you have plans._

Ha! Jane thought. She had plans. But they were not going to be revealed till it was time to go out.

_Ok._ She scribbled back. _Hope you have something nice to wear…_ she added a winking emoji.

Maura chuckled. _Just wait and see._ She answered Janes message. Before taking up work again.

They spent two more hours flipping through Books about secret cults, old newspapers and local history. With no results. Somewhat frustrated both drove back to their hotel. This case was hard to solve. In fact, they didn't even know what they had to look for. But they wouldn't give up. That was sure.

When in her room, Jane first laid down to take a short nap. She had approximately 90 minutes to prepare for her date. First sleep, then call mum, then shower.

She almost made it on time. It was 7:04 pm as she arrived at Maura's door. She felt very nervous. Maybe it had gone too fast. It still hadn't sunk in that they were really going out together. What about the future? Did a relationship really stand a chance with two so different people as they were?

_Don't panic!_ she told herself as she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Maura opened and left Jane speechless at her sight. She looked stunning in her dress.

"_I hope I'm not overdressed."_ she said. "_I didn't know where we were going so I chose this one."_

"_You look absolutely fabulous."_ Jane stammered.

"_Uh I have to admit that I'm a little bit scared."_ Maura said shyly. She still couldn't believe that this was happening. She had wanted this to happen for so long. But now that it was, it felt so unreal.

"_I'm scared too_." Jane answered.

"_Well I guess this is how it's supposed to be."_ Maura stated and smiled.

Jane just held her hand towards the other woman and smiled back. "_At least we are not alone."_

"_Yes_" Maura said and took her hand. A flutter rushed through Janes belly and she had to swallow hard. This felt just so strange after all these years of friendship. She realized that they had touched before. But this put a whole new meaning to it. No more hiding she thought.

She drove Maura to a nice bar, where she used to go with her brothers in former times and hoped that the food was still good.

"_God, I need a drink."_ Jane said as they settled at a table. And they both laughed.

"_Me too. Definitely." _

They chuckled nervously and toasted to each other, after the drinks had arrived. they stammered around nervously. Both feeling overwhelmed. Yeah like teenagers Jane thought. By the time dinner arrived the tension had loosened up a little and the talking became more sense.

A band came onto the stage and people started to dance. Jane waited for a slow song. As it came, she asked Maura if she wanted to dance with her.

"_I d love to."_ Maura said.

So, Jane took her hand and led her to the dance floor. They danced quite a while. But somehow it still felt strange.

It was far beyond midnight, when the two women got back to the hotel.

It was Maura who invited Jane to her room. For one last drink she said. And it was Jane who followed her with a flutter in her gut. Once inside they fell into each other's arms. Kissing…. Slowly at the beginning than faster.

"_Let's got to the bed.._" Jane mumbled as her feet started shaking. And Maura agreed.

Jane stopped when she heard Maura whisper: "_wait!"_

"_Are you ok?"_ She asked.

"_Yes. I just need a little bit of time to cool off."_ She chuckled. "_I don't uhm want to have sex tonight._

"_Me neither."_ Jane whispered.

Jane chuckled. "_I think I better go to my room now." _

Maura thanked Jane for the wonderful evening.

They shared one last kiss before they parted ways.


	5. Chapter 5 - the next day

5\. The day after

Maura was overwhelmed. The evening yesterday was great. Of course, she had felt very nervous. And she had to smile when she remembered how awkward and clumsy it had been at the beginning. And it would doubtlessly take some time to adjust to the new situation. But she had the impression that they were on a good way. Both seemed to acknowledge that moving into this direction would be a difficult step.

She sighed at the thought how great it felt to be kissed by Jane. Her stomach just couldn't stop flattering like a million butterflies would live there.

Maura waited in joy for the daily knock of the brunette.

She felt almost deceived when she received a message from Jane instead, saying that she had to fly back to Quantico for some kind of emergency. _Was Jane bailing out on her? Had she done something wrong?_

Suddenly the good mood was gone, and she felt panic crawling up inside of her.

Maura didn't know what to answer or to say. So, she wrote back nothing. Instead she turned on the TV to watch the news.

Then she sat down at her computer to do some research.

It was around midday when Jane called. Maura picked up the phone.

"_Hi!"_

"_Hey Babe." _Maura noticed that Jane sounded very stressed.

"_What's going on? " _the blonde asked.

"_Uhm I can't really talk about it. You know how the FBI is. But I have to help with an emergency here. I hope I won't be long."_

"_Are you bailing out on me?"_ Maura couldn't help. She had to know.

Fear grew when Jane didn't answer right away.

"_No, believe me. I would have preferred staying in Boston with you. Shit! I have to run, and I can't really talk right now. Please don't worry Maur. I will call you again as soon as possible. Please don't be mad or worried."_

"_Ok."_ Maura heard herself but it didn't even sound convinced to her.

They hung up and Maura felt some tears running down her cheek. She already missed Jane.

A few minutes later she received a text from Jane in which the brunette thanked her for the nice evening. Once again stating that she hoped to be back soon.

The rest of the day seemed to pass really slow. And again, Maura only found dead ends wherever she did her research. Maura also couldn't focus as she kept thinking about Jane and her rash departure.

She felt almost relieved when Frankie swung by around six and asked her if she would have dinner with him. She agreed reluctantly. It occurred to her that he hadn't asked about his sister while they were driving to a restaurant. When she mentioned it to him, he smiled and said: that's why I'm here. "_Janie wrote me a message that she had to return to Quantico and that you might be up for some company tonight._"

"_Do you know what she's doing there?"_

"_No idea. It was just a short message. Sorry. I thought that you had more information."_

"_No, not at all." _

Frankie invited Maura to a nice French restaurant. After a glass of wine, she suddenly felt childish because of worrying so much and started to feel better. It was just that she missed Jane. Sure, everything was all right between them she thought.

It was a nice evening after all with good food, lots of wine and good company.

"_Jane loves you Maura."_ Frankie suddenly said out of nowhere, when they were still sitting in his car in front of the hotel.

Maura turned to him._ "How…?"_

"_Ahh, don't worry. I don't think anyone else knows. Its just that …. I don't know that message she sent me. Your behavior at the lab yesterday…. I just had to count one and one together. "_

"_Are you going to tell Angela?"_

Frankie chuckled softly. _"No. I leave it up to you to do that. Well if you two hadn't shown up on the TV news, ma wouldn't even know you are here."_

Maura looked astonished. _"And I wondered…" _she muttered.

"_Naw. I wouldn't have done that."_

Maura was thankful that he wasn't offended. It wouldn't be his fault anyway. She knew that Angela was the perfect detective. That woman definitely knew how to interrogate people and learn every secret.

She suddenly had to laugh. God it feels good to know someone knows, she thought. And was also happy about Frankie's reaction which was really sweet.

They kept talking for some time before Maura got out of the car and walked to her room. Frankie had offered that she could call if she needed something. Just like in old times when she was part of the Rizzoli clan. And she had feared to have fallen out of the family because of her moving to France, but she knew better now.

Now she felt stupid for having made such a fuss about everything as she turned on the shower before bed.

Jane called around 11 pm.

"_Hey sweetie!"_

"_Hey babe!"_

"_How are you?"_

"_I'm fine Maur. How are you?"_

"_I'm fine too. Thanks for sending me Frankie."_ She chuckled

She told Jane about how her mother had found out that they were in town. But Jane had already seen the clip on the news herself. They spent about one hour chatting and teasing each other.

Maura then made a remark, that she had started to think, that it hadn't been good for Jane, and that she had bailed out. She told Jane that she felt stupid and apologized. Jane told Maura that she didn't have to feel stupid for she also had feared that she would run out on her when she found out that she had left this morning.

"_I was worried that you get this impression. But I didn't want to wake you up. I'm sorry."_

It felt good to talk openly about it all. And Maura could hear that Jane had been missing her too. She was grateful for Frankie's company while Jane had no one. She could only imagine how hard it must be on her friend.

Maura had an idea. But she was hesitant to speak it out loud as she remembered how Jane had hated it when Chris had followed her to Boston. After thinking about it for a while, she decided to give it a shot.

"_Jane…" _

"_Yes?"_

"_A friend of mine is specialized on religious cults and this kind of stuff. He lives close to Quantico. I thought maybe he could help us. "_

"_Okaaaay."_

"_I could send him the pictures and you could visit him."_

_Or you ask him and visit me?"_

Maura felt her heartbeat go up as she heard Janes longing tone in her voice.

"_Are you sure?"_ she asked, still hesitating.

"_Yes. Absolutely. Probably I won't have much time, but I'm sure I can make some space. I'd love that."_

"_I'd love that too…"_ Maura replied.

They said good night soon after and Maura started looking for a flight.


	6. Chapter 6

6\. Quantico

Jane felt excited as she drove to the airport. It's been two days since she had seen Maura. And even though they had talked on the phone she had missed her terribly. _Take it slow _she reminded herself and tried some relaxation exercise she had once learned at a yoga class.

She scanned the group of arrivals impatiently and felt her heart jump with joy, when she spotted the blonde. "_Hey babe!"_ she greeted her friend and took her in her arms and held her there for a moment.

They walked hand in hand to Janes car, again overwhelmed by their feelings. Maura apologized for intruding, but Jane wouldn't have it. They made plans for the day. Jane would take her friend to Quantico, then Maura would take Janes car and drive to the Professor. After that they would make space for a meal together. Either lunch or dinner. And Jane promised to show Maura around a little bit. Maura would stay at Janes place and presumably fly back to Boston the next day.

The brunette kissed Maura goodbye before she left and headed back to work.

Maura found herself in a comfortable Chair just half an hour later. _Jane should see this library_ she thought. _It's beautiful._ She glanced around, while professor Stud made some tea for them. Maura tried to read some titles of the books, feeling like Alice in wonderland.

As soon as the professor had settled himself into his favorite chair he asked Maura to tell him the reason for her visit.

The blonde shifted a little so that she could face the professor and told him about the newspaper articles.

"_These articles where given to me lately and I just wondered about the story behind it." _

According to the senator it was vital not to give away too much information, which she respected. Even if it made everything far more difficult. Especially as she couldn't lie without showing physical signs. Therefore, she hoped that the professor wouldn't ask too much questions about the motives of her research.

The Professor sat in silence and reflected after she had finished her story and given him one of the articles. I think I have seen that before he mused and went to a shelf near the window to pick out a huge green book.

Maura couldn't help but getting excited. Maybe they would finally find some information. She watched in anticipation as the professor slowly scanned the index. Then he turned to the right page and started to smile. He handed Maura the book so that she could see what he had discovered. There was a similar picture to the ones she had given him and some twenty pages about the topic.

What do you know about them she asked the professor who shrugged. Unfortunately, not much. There are so many cults. You can't know them all. But I can copy the pages if you like so you can read for yourself.

Maura agreed. Sure. After twenty more minutes she was back in the car with an envelope that contained the information. She couldn't wait to tell Jane and to read them. But first she had to visit the local library.

Jane took her friend to a nice restaurant for dinner where they served Indian food. And watched in delight how Maura loved it. "This is really delicious the blonde said." They talked about their day and chatted away lightly while eating. It was fun as always when they spent time together.

Afterwards Jane took her by the hand and showed Maura her favorite place.

"_It's beautiful!"_ Maura exclaimed when standing on top of the hill from where you could see the lights of the city. Jane chuckled. "_I love it too. It's always nice no matter which time of day or year. I love it." _

"_I can see why"_ Maura stated and felt Janes arms hugging her from behind. She started to feel hot when the brunette kissed her neck. Slowly, softly, warm.

Jane took care not to overdo it. Having sex with Maura was far away from her mind. Not that she didn't want to. Hell, she really felt hot when thinking about Maura. She just didn't feel ready for it. But she still wanted to be close. Jane noted that the blonde's skin was soft and smelled like flowers. Doubtlessly her Perfume which was absolutely made for her. She could have gone on forever, but she knew that she had to stop, otherwise she couldn't have guaranteed for anything.

So, she took a step away from Maura and sighed. Jane had always wanted somebody who understood her and the beauty of the world they were living in. And as different both women were at some points, they shared the same values after all.

Let's drive home she mumbled as she noted that it was already close to midnight.

Jane took Maura to her small apartment on campus where they shared a bottle of wine listening to some music.

When the radio played one of Janes favorite songs she spontaneously asked Maura to dance.

The blonde looked insecure. _"Here? She asked glancing at the apartment."_

"_Sure. Why not?"_ Jane asked and held her hand out to Maura.

The other woman hesitated for a second and then took the offered hand and stood up.

Jane could hear her own pulse beat, when Maura moved in close to her. She was surprised when her friend took the lead at some point and whispered: _"let me show you."_

"_I didn't know that you were such a pro."_ Jane chuckled when falling back on her couch. Breathless.

Maura laughed_: "well, I guess there is a lot you don't know yet agent Rizzoli."_


	7. Chapter 7

7\. Surprise!

Maura was happy but tired when settling down at her seat in the plane. She looked out of the window and saw some heavy clouds. She felt sad leaving Jane behind. But it was clear that they couldn't spend every minute together. And it was probably absolutely normal to feel confused.

They had known each other for ages. Shared so many adventures and moments. They knew each other so well as friends. But becoming lovers meant learning new sides of the other person. It changed a lot. Every touch suddenly got another meaning which she absolutely enjoyed. But still…. It had even felt different to use Janes car she mused. But she couldn't explain why._"I don't mind as long as it stays in the family." _Jane had said and winked with her eyes.

She decided not to think further about it as it seemed wasted time. It would all arrange by itself she mused to herself.

Maura had read all twenty pages from professor Studs book and took a nap for the rest of the flight.

The weather was very cloudy in Boston too. Autumn started to show by the leaves falling from the trees and a strong wind which blew through the streets.

The blonde made herself a cup of coffee in her room and started to write a report about what she had found out in Quantico. After she had finished, she put it into an envelope and drove to the precinct to meet Frankie.

Janes little brother seemed happy to see her and asked how Jane was. ""_She's stressed but fine._ Maura replied with a smile.

"_I am glad to hear that"_ Frankie replied and smiled too.

He led Maura into an office where they could talk without being overheard. As soon as they had settled with a cup of coffee the blonde started to tell him what she had found out.

Apparently, it was a very old cult initiated by the Celts in Ireland. Probably brought to the US by some settlers. It was believed to be dead till it reappeared in Boston. Maura had found articles stating that the group had murdered long before 1945. But obviously no one had made the link between the murders because they always happened some years apart. These old articles had given much more information about the Mo of this group. They only took female victims. Presumably people they believed to be witches. And their mission was to protect the world from them. The riddles as they called themselves usually murdered a witch every 25 years by opening their chests and taking out their hearts while their victims were alive. Then they put them on a cross upside down and displayed the body on a public location.

"_I was curious if they only operated in Boston," _Maura said_," so I checked some articles at the public library in Quantico. No murders there apparently. But they actually had a lot more articles about the murders in Boston than Jane and I had found here." _

Maura got the impression to be in a Dan Brown story. Only that this was for real.

It was obvious that Jane and Maura had been brought in to prevent the next murder which would occur soon, if they couldn't stop it. But how? Now at least they had an assumption as to the motives of the murders and the group which stood behind it. But that didn't really help. Much more research was needed, so Maura drove back to the library and later she would check the internet. Frankie would check in the police files for similar murders in other places.

Maura couldn't help but feel frustrated. Tired of reading and searching she rubbed her eyes and shut her computer down. She was about to take a bath, when she heard a knock on the door. She wondered who this could be and put on her dressing gown to open the door.

"_Do you always open the door in uhm this or are you waiting for someone special?"_ Jane asked with a dirty smirk on her face.

"_Jane! Oh my god!"_

"_Haha, thought I might surprise you."_

"_I was just about to take a bath." _

"_Uhh, that sounds good. I hope you have a lot of foam in it. "_

"_Well, uhm, actually not. I don't take foam bathes. I only use…"_

"_Bath oil."_ Jane finished the sentence for her friend. Why wasn't she surprised? She was tempted to ask if she could join Maura but then decided that better not. So, the brunette offered to go to her room and come back later.

Maura hesitated. "_You look like you could use some relaxing bath too…._ "

Jane was startled. "_Are you offering…?"_ She asked unsure.

Maura blushed a little." Yes, but you don't have to, you know…."

"No! no, I actually really need some bath."

They both chuckled nervously, and Jane followed Maura to the bathroom where she started to undress clumsily. The bath oil smelled great and the warm water looked appealing. She could see in the mirror that Maura made herself comfortable in the tub, not looking at Jane in order to give her some privacy. Jane was glad, that she had shaved her legs this morning. She took a breath before taking off her bra and her panties and then slipped into the warm water on the opposite side of Maura. Their eyes locked for a long moment and Jane could see the fire in Maura's eyes.

Needless to say that she was scared of the first time they'd have sex. She saw Maura close her eyes and lay her head back. She wondered if Maura had ever had sex with a woman before. She glanced at Maura's naked body which was slender and nice. Her breasts were very sexy.

Then Jane also ,closed her eyes and laid her head back glad to have taken Maura's offer to join her. She could feel how her body and mind relaxed. the last days had been very tense. So, that was exactly what she needed right now.

She felt Maua shifting a little bit and opened her eyes to see what was going on. The blonde smiled at her and said that she would leave the bath. It hit Jane that she hadn't thought of bringing clothes to change. _"You can have my dressing gown" _Maura said as if she had read her mind and chuckled. Oh yeah, Jane thought. Very sexy.

Jane closed her eyes again not willing to leave the bath yet. She thought about the riddles and how to catch them. Trying not to think about sleeping with Maura.


	8. Chapter 9

9 riddles win the race.

The next morning came far too soon for the newly lovers. Maura awoke in Janes arms, due to the buzzing phone on the nightstand.

"_What time is it?"_ Jane murmured.

"_Its 4:50"_ Maura stated.

"_Isles?"_ she mumbled into the phone.

"_Maura? Frankie here. We ve got a problem. You need to come. I ll text you the address."_

The blonde bent down to kiss Jane. _"Sweeti, we need to get going. Something happened."_

"_Aaaaargh"_ Jane murmured and crawled out of the bed. They dressed up in a hurry and left for the unknown address.

"_Holy sh… "_ Jane muttered as they approached a burning cross with a body on it.

"_Uhhh that doesn't look good."_ Maura noted herself.

They parked behind another Police car and hopped out. Frankie came running to them from his car. He had also just arrived. "Jesus!" Jane said. "_why aren't the firefighters doing their work?"_

"_Because they feared to destroy evidence." _

"_Well and the fire doesn't? "_

Both looked at Maura who shouted: _"put the fire out for heaven's sake!"_

It didn't take long till they stood in front of the smoking remains of the cross and the body.

"_How bad is it?"_ Jane asked Maura.

"_I can't tell you, till I get to see her closer. But from here…. Very bad."_

"_Fuck!"_ Jane swore and glanced mad at the firefighters.

"_Leave them alone."_ Maura said and touched Janes arm. _"They only tried to do their best."_

Frankie gave order to comb the surrounding area for any evidence and ask if anybody had seen anything.

"_I bet they set fire on her to prevent us from finding something on the body."_ Jane stated.

"_Yes."_ Maura replied. _"And I wonder what that is. According to the book they only cut out the heart of their victims. But this and the fact that they didn't want us to see the autopsy report clearly tells us, that there must be more."_

"_Who found the body anyway?"_ Jane turned to her brother.

"_You re not going to like it…."_

"_Let me guess"_ the brunette said sourly: "_an anonymous call?"_

Frankie nodded. _"I'm afraid so."_

"_Fuck!"_ Jane exclaimed again.

Maura stated that maybe not all the hope was lost. We ll find something Jane. There is always something. Till now we only had newspaper articles and pages from books. Now we have a body, and maybe even evidence. This could tell us more than they want to.

"_It better does"_ Jane muttered. _"Because we are not going to wait the next 25 years till they kill again."_

Jane went of to scan the crowd who had come to see the burning cross, carefully avoiding the media crews who had come to the park. In the meantime, Maura took care that no evidence was being destroyed on the body or the crime scene in general. And Frankie was organizing the officers and crime teams arriving at the scene.

It was already ten am when they finally settled into the office they had used before.

"_So, what have we got?"_ Frankie asked Maura and Jane.

"_The body is on its way to the morgue"_ the blonde started. _"I will do the autopsy around midday. But I can tell that it's a female hanging upside down on the cross."_

"_So, it's definitely the riddle?"_ Frankie asked.

"_Well, they usually murdered in November. So, they are one month ahead. But I'm pretty sure, that its them."_ Jane noted. _"Maybe they got nervous with us poking around."_

"_Have you seen any suspects in the crowd?"_

"_Not really. There were one or two people who seemed to be suspicious. But I don't think that they had anything to do with it. But we have pictures of the crowd, right? So, we can check them as soon as they are coming from the lab._"

"_We got a lot of officers checking for witnesses."_ Frankie added.

"_I swear we are going to catch them!"_ Jane muttered and threw her empty coffee cup into the bin.

Maura started the autopsy as soon as the body had cooled off. Nobody talked except for the medical examiner and her assistant. Jane had taken a close look at the body and was now leaning against the sink watching from a far.

"_Definitely a woman"_ Maura stated when they were back in the office_. "She s pretty burned but not burned enough for us to take a blood sample."_ she smiled at Jane. _"Her heart was missing as expected. I could see that the cut was made by a large kitchen knife."_

"_Butcher style."_ Jane mumbled.

"_Ah yes. I guess you could put it like that."_ Maura noted. _"But the way the ribs were parted I can tell that whoever did this had some kind of medical education. One of her teeth was missing and she was definitely alive when they cut her open. I was able to find a hair in one of her earlobes. From an animal or so. Its already being checked in the lab. She was 1,75 meters high, had blonde hair and a piercing in her tongue. Her eyes were blue and she must have weighed around 180 pounds."_

"_Somebody must have or will report her missing"_ Frankie mused.

"_I will make a facial reconstruction for you till tomorrow."_ Maura said and went back downstairs.

"_She s quite a powerful woman."_ Frankie noted and blinked.

"_Oh yes. She s the best."_ Jane answered and smiled.

"_Feels good to work with you again Janie",_ her brother said and smiled too_. "With both of you." _

"_Same here."_

Jane found herself alone in Maura's room. Her friend was still at morgue. So, Jane had left her the car key and asked Frankie to take her to the hotel. She opened a beer and drank it while watching the news, laying on Maura's bed. The burning cross wasn't even mentioned in the local news.

"_Damn it!"_ Jane muttered. You have a burning cross with a dead body on it, and it doesn't even make the news? She asked herself about what was going on. She had seen the media crews herself. She took her phone and dialed senator Williams number.

"_Detective Rizzoli, don't you have a watch?"_ He wasn't pleased about her late call, but she didn't care.

"_Senator Williams. Of course, I have a watch. And this watch told me that it was time for the news. But guess what? They didn't mention today s incident. Maybe you can explain me the reason for that?"_

"_Hell, I don't know!"_ The senator snapped. Uhh someone was really pissed Jane thought.

"_I think that you know, but you don't want to say. She replied. So, I assume, no I know, that you haven't given us all of the information available."_

She waited for another unfriendly reply. But all she could hear was a sigh. _"It is really complicated detective Rizzoli. Even I don't know all of the details. What about me flying to Boston tomorrow and then we can talk about what I know. Would that be okay for you?"_

"_That sounds perfect!"_ Jane said.

"_So, I will call you to arrange an appointment as soon as I know more. Good night."_

"_Thank you, senator. Good night." _

If Jane would have had a car, she would now have driven to the morgue to keep Maura company and to check if she was alright. But as she had none she decided for a bath and then reading some reports.

Before drifting off to sleep she texted Maura:

Hey babe, hope your ok. I'm off to bed. Wait for you. Xx Jane

Some minutes later she received a message from her friend:

_Hi sweeti, I'm tired but ok. Don't know how more time I will need. Hope to see you soon. Good night. Xx Maura. _

Jane tossed and turned for a while till she fell into a deep sleep.


	9. Chapter 10

10\. Jane Doe?

Jane found the other side of the bed empty as she woke up. It was crazy how fast one got used to not sleeping alone she thought. After a cup of coffee and a quick shower she texted Frankie, that she needed a taxi to the precinct.

They stopped on their way to grab Maura's favorite coffee and while Jane went directly to the morgue, Frankie went upstairs to the squad room.

Jane was not surprised to find the blonde sleeping on the couch of her former office. The brunette went to her knees and softly stroke over Maura's head to wake her up softly. The ME started to stir after Jane had given her a kiss on the forehead.

"_What time is it?"_ the blonde asked and stretched, still half asleep.

"_Its 7 o'clock."_ Jane said. _"When did you go to sleep?"_

Maura rolled on her back, making space so the brunette could sit down. Grateful she took the coffee out of Janes hand and sipped.

"_I can't remember."_ She mumbled and scratched her head. "it must have been around 5 or so."

Jane sighed. _"This case is really nutting."_

Maura nodded and sat up, stretching and yawning. She accepted Janes offer to bring her to the motel. The blonde had done her job, now it was up to the detectives to find a name to the face which she had created overnight. Jane kissed her, feeling very attracted by a disheveled Maura, who hadn't really woken up during the entire drive to the hotel. The brunette would have loved to stay and make love to Maura. But the blonde was tired, and she had work to do.

When she arrived at the precinct, they were already checking the data bases of missing persons to identify the dead women. _"Someone must miss her."_ Korsak said as he watched the screen. Jane looked at the face, Maura had created. The woman had been young, she thought. Probably mid-twenties. Janes eyes lingered over the curved lips and brown eyes. Dark brown hair was covering the head. Even though only a creation of clay and other materials, the face appeared to be sad.

Jane felt the urge to find out who she was, in order to give her a proper burial and to find her killer. _"Who are you?"_ she mumbled as her finger softly stroke over the cold face.

A beep from the computer told them, that the search in the missing persons data base was finished. The display said, that no match had been found. But the face recognitional program immediately started a new search in another data base.

Jane watched with Korsak how thousands of images appeared and reappeared on the screen. And the brunette jumped up, as the computer stopped. Not the display said _"Match!"_ in green letters. Jane looked very close at the picture of Maura's model on the left and then to the picture of a woman to right. _"Its her!" _Korsak muttered under his breath.

"_Name: Rebecca Tree, age:26, eye color: brown, height: 1,56 meters, lives in: forge street 17, Boston"_ the old detective took notes in his worn-out notebook.

Jane saw that the woman was married. Yet her husband hadn't reported her missing. But the brunette knew from experience, that this could have different reasons. Either they were separated, or her husband was on some business travels….

Korsak grabbed the car key, while Jane pulled over her jacket. As a rehearsed team, they didn't need to talk much in these situations. They knew where to go.

The victims house was hidden in a side street. The husband opened the door after the third ring in Pj's and his short black hair stood into all directions. They had obviously woken him up.

He let them into a spacious living room after they had presented themselves. Jane and Korsak sat down on the couch while the man made himself comfortable in a chair, facing them.

"_So, what's the purpose of your visit?"_ he asked, and his dark eyes watched them closely.

"_We are here because of you wife Mr. Tree."_ Korsak answered the question.

"_I can't tell you where she is. I came home from a 24-hour shift in the hospital two hours ago. I'm working as a doctor there. Have you tried at her work?" _

Jane saw that the man was all worked up. She knew from her own experience that long shifts with no sleep could make one weary.

"_Mr. Tree. I know that you must feel very tired."_ She started cautiously_. "But the thing is, that we found a body a few hours ago. And consider it a possibility that the body is your wife."_

The man looked shocked. _"What?"_

"_We would like to ask you for her toothbrush or anything with her DNA on it, to identify her." _Korsak noted.

Both watched as his face displayed more shock and disbelief. The man swallowed hard. One could see that he didn't know what to say.

"_But that's impossible. Can I …. Can I see the body?" _He managed to say.

Jane thought a moment about it. The body was badly burned_. "I honestly don't think that that's a good idea Mr. Tree." _She answered with an understanding tone. _"How about you give us something to see if the DNA matches and then we will see. Besides, it would be great if you tell us if your wife has special marks on her body."_

The man shook his head in despair. He told them that she had a big birthmark on her left arm. Then he left the room and came back with the Rebecca's toothbrush.

Jane felt sorry for him. He really seemed to love his wife. The brunette hoped that the DNA results would come back soon so that they could put a name on the woman in the morgue.

After picking Maura up from the hotel, she brought the sample right to the lab. She watched Maura check the body for the mentioned birthmark. The blonde sighed_. "The body is burned to much Jane. I can't tell you if there is a birthmark or not. But we will have her DNA result soon."_

Jane nodded. She wasn't really surprised.

When entering the squad room Korsak informed her that the husband's alibi had been confirmed by surveillance footage from the hospital. They decided to give him a little bit of time to calm down and then revisit him for more questions. In the meantime, they had lots of other stuff to do.

The brunette checked her phone constantly, still awaiting news from the senator. She couldn't help but getting an earie feeling as he hadn't called by 6 pm. The dead ME propped up in her mind as she dialed the senators' number for the hundredth time this day. But the brunettes call got immediately directed to mailbox as it had been the previous times. _Where the heck was the senator? What was going on?_ Jane was very thoughtful and wondered if he had just bailed out, or if something else or someone prevented him from meeting with her.


	10. Chapter 11

11

„_Maura!?"_

"_What is it? Is someone dead?_" The blonde emerged from the bathroom, wearing a huge towel to her head. Jane was simply speechless. For once because Maura was naked except for the towel. And second, because she didn't get the ME's joke.

"_How do you know?"_

"_Really?_ _I just tried to make a joke…."_

"_Yes, really. The senator was washed ashore the coast of Boston during the early morning hours. Frankie just sent me a message."_

"_Where is his body?"_

"_I don't know. I'm going to call Frankie anyway, so I will ask him."_

"_This is now the third autopsy within a week which is connected to this case."_ Jane stated. "_And we still have no idea what this is all about or where to find the predators." _

"_The whole thing is slowly becoming a nightmare."_ Frankie confirmed.

"_The senator was strangled and then thrown into the sea."_ Maura said thoughtfully. _"They make such a secret about the witches' deaths, but they don't really care if we know how the other ones died. That makes no sense…. I mean they even left the hammer next to professor Stud's body. And the senator has literally still the rope hanging around his neck."_ She pointed to the body on the table in front of them.

"_Good point, Maura."_ Frankie said. _"I have another good question: if the senator didn't know everything, who does? Who gave the instructions? Why send you here with no information? I almost think that there are different forces under one roof. One that ordered that the case should be solved. And another who tries to mess up the plan. Maybe the government got infiltrated by the riddles."_

"_See, that's the problem,"_ Jane said who was again leaning against the sink of the morgue, her arms crossed_. "We know nothing. We keep finding stuff and finally always hit a dead end. Its as if they are always ahead of us." _

Maura froze. Then it clicked with Jane and Frankie too.

"_So, I'd say we go and grab some coffee and continue our talk there. It's so uncomfortable here_." Jane noted and winked to the others. It was clear that they all had the same thought: that somebody might have installed some surveying device.

They left the room as they would normally, went straight to the car and went to a small coffee place in the middle of a park. They all left their phones in the car and kept checking their surroundings. There, they checked their clothes and sat down on a chess table far away from trees and bushes.

"_Do you think that somebody is spying on us?"_ Jane asked Frankie.

"_I don't know. Its very suspicious. As you said, they are always well informed and ahead of us. I have some people I trust who are checking the morgue, the precinct and if you allow also your rooms." _

"_Don't forget the cars!"_ Maura said.

"_I sent them to the morgue first. We'll just stay here and return when they finished checking for security leaks. Maybe we go and grab some food later?" _

"_Thing is,"_ Jane said. "_I called the senator and the next day he s dead. Ok. Maybe he told someone. Same with professor stud. One day after we made an appointment to meet both, they were found dead, before they could talk to us. We don't know whom we can trust and whom not."_

Frankie and Maura nodded and nervously looked around as they kept talking about the case.

Two hours later a small man with a baseball cap approached their table. Jane s hand was already close to her weapon when Frankie told her that it was on his friends.

The man with the baseball cap greeted them and sat down with his coffee.

"_No camera and no microphone in the morgue."_ he told them after taking a big gulp. "_The office is clean too. But we have a problem with our surveillance system on the ground floor. It could be possible that someone has installed a virus so that he can see what's going on there."_

"_Your motel rooms are also free from spy ware, as well as the cars. That's the good news_"

"_But the bad news are, that we found some strange software on your phones. We determine whether it's a software which for example will come when downloading an app. Or a software which could be used to spy. But don't worry, we'll know soon." _

"Or maybe we have a mole in the office." Frankie said and looked worried.

They were relieved when they were informed that the software on the mobiles turned out to be a false alarm after dinner.

"_I feel like a paranoid idiot." _ Maura stated when they were back to the precinct.

"_Yeah. But we couldn't have known. Things like these have happened before."_ Jane tried to soothe her friend.

"_Well at least we can take measures now. We need all these people but only few will receive the most important information." _Frankie said.

"_We are going to find this riddle group, believe me."_ Jane said more determined than ever. _"We'll find them, and we'll put them all behind bars, where they belong." _

Maura nodded. _"That's for sure she said._ _They had an advantage till now. But with every action of them we learn more about that cult. I bet that for them we already know too much anyway. We just have to be careful."_

"_Oh yes!"_ Frrankie confirmed and nodded.

"_Jane?"_ Maura burst into the office where the siblings were studying every single report meticulously.

Both looked up, irritated for having been so focused on their papers.

"_I think I found something!"_ Maura said out of breath.

"_What is it?"_ Frankie asked scratching his chin.

"_If I'm not misled, and we all know that this happens very seldom, I found another name for the cult. And if you have that name_…. " Maura typed it into Frankie's computer on the desk and hit the enter button_…. "Then you have a hint where to find them on the dark web." _

Maura opened the dark web on the computer and typed the name and the given password from the other website and hit enter again. _"Et voila!"_ she muttered triumphantly as Frankie and Janes jaw dropped at the site of what they saw.

"_How the hell did you find that out?"_ Frankie asked in astonishment.

"And why on earth is the dark web installed on your computer Frankie?" Jane mumbled.

Maura smiled. "_Ok first: the police try to monitor the dark web. So, it's installed in its system. And the answer to Frankie's question is simple: logic. I thought that even an old cult like the riddles would probably use modern technology. But probably not on a normal website. And the dark web was designed especially for these illegal operations."_

"_I guess we found them Jane said. at least at the web."_ She glanced at the page which looked as sinister as they were. They literally presented themselves as invincible, claiming to know people who were important and who would protect them from justice. They proclaimed self justice and offered help with death penalty. Of course, their service had to be paid and was very expensive. But the peace to the soul had no prize it proclaimed. Two people managed the whole thing according to some text on the web. You could contact them through the site if you wanted to use their service.

"_Now that explains why it didn't come on the news or the lack of information." _Frankie said. "_At least if it's true what we read here. But somehow I doubt that it isn't." _

"_Me neither."_ jane confirmed.

The site had about 500 likes, a five-star rating and three other people were just looking at the site.


	11. Chapter 12

12

Jane awoke at 6 am after having a bad dream. She stared into the dark knowing that she wouldn't be able to find any more sleep even though she felt exhausted. Maura was still snoring slightly in her arms, so she tried not to wake her up when going to the bathroom.

When she came back, Maura had rolled to the other side of the bed, still asleep. Janes mind wandered around a bit. But she couldn't really hang on to something. It was Saturday so they would be able to relax a little bit today. She was looking forward to spend a day away from work. This case was driving them all nuts she thought.

Her mind wandered on to her mother. The lasagna had been delicious as ever and telling them the truth about herself and her beginning relationship with Maura had actually lifted a weight from her shoulder. She became aroused when she thought about what else had happened after the dinner with her family. Jane took a quick glance at her mobile to see that it was already 7:30. Maybe….

She took a chance and crawled closer to Maura. Her hands wandered softly over the other woman's body. She could hear that Maura's breathing became quicker and her own heart started to race. When she took her hand off to shift into a more comfortable position Maura immediately groaned and mumbled: _"Don't stop. Please_" – it sounded almost begging.

Grinning sheepishly Jane took up caressing again. Slowly, softly her hands slipped under Maura's pajama top to her belly. She heard a soft moan and became even more aroused. Maura rolled to her back and gasped in delight when Janes hands reached her breasts….

"_Wow!"_ the blonde said, "_I've never been awoken like that before."_ Jane could see a wide grin on Maura's face and giggled

"_Sorry,_" Jane said, teasing. "_I just couldn't resist." _

"_Thank god,"_ Maura said."_it was great! You're welcome to do that again, anytime_." The blonde laughed.

Jane chuckled. "_My previous girlfriends actually didn't appreciate it so much."_

"_Girlfriends? Of how many are we talking?"_ The blonde asked curiously and shifted position so she could look Jane in the eyes.

"_Well, uhhm …."_

"_Are there so many that you have lost track?"_ Maura said teasing, feeling that her partner was struggling a bit.

"_No, Jane chuckled again. I had three. So now its your turn_!" she nudged Maura who giggled.

"_Me? Uhm let me see. No girlfriend so far. But I've had sex with other women before, mostly while I was in college."_ she added.

Janes jaw dropped.

"_What?"_ Maura laughed. _"I told you about my bad experiences back then."_

"_I know. But still…."_ Jane would have imagined Maura being a serious student, spending all her time learning and reading books.

"_Anything else you want to know?"_ Jane asked and chuckled.

"_actually, yes. When was your first kiss?"_ Maura asked changing the direction a little.

"_My first kiss was with Jimmy Dorson under the old railroad bridge when I was 13."_ Jane replied. "_And my first sex uhm with Harry Sassle when I was 17. It was awful."_ Jane remembered.

"_Haha yes. My first time was awful too. I can't even remember his name, but I was 17 too. My first kiss was with Susi Mapel when I was in college. This is probably due to the fact that I was homeschooled a lot. So, I didn't have many acquaintances let alone friends before that time. Anyway, she was my roommate and I had a terrible crush on her. I thought that it was mutual because she kept coming to my bed to snuggle and she was the one to kiss me first one stormy night. But when I told her that I was falling in love with her, she totally freaked out." _

"_That's sad. I'm really sorry for you."_ Jane said and pulled Maura a little bit closer.

"_Naw, I survived and I'm happy now."_

Both women spent a lazy noon in bed, having some more sex and chats about different topics. Just enjoying themselves. Then they went to have some lunch before going to an art exhibition.

Jane wasn't very fond of art. But she was fond of Maura. So, while the blonde was looking at the paintings, Janes secretly looked at the blonde and enjoyed her glaring eyes and never-ending monologues.

She noted that it had become natural to them to kiss, touch or walk hand in hand just within a few days. "_I'm really falling in love with you Maur."_ Jane mouthed unconsciously what she was thinking. _Shit!_ she thought I have stop doing that. Maura who was just talking about some Color composition of a painting stopped and looked at her stunned.

"_Sorry but I just had to say that."_ Jane cringed as she was caught not listening.

"_It's ok. This is really nice to hear." _Maura said and stepped closer to the tall woman to give her a kiss. "_I'm falling in love with you too."_ She whispered as her hand found Janes.

Their eyes locked and Jane felt her heart race. So, this was getting somewhere she thought and smiled.

After the museum they went to Angela who had invited them and Frankie and Michelle for dinner. They were even holding hands when going up to the house.

"_There you are!_ Angela exclaimed as she gave them a hug.

"_Hey ma, hi Angela."_ they greeted her and went into the house where a heavenly smell of Ravioli and tomato sauce was hovering around.

Angela lured Jane into the kitchen under the pretense that she needed help with cooking while Maura was ordered to join Frankie and Michelle in the living room. Jane rolled her eyes at Maura before following her mother. Maura smiled at her reassuringly.

Jane maned the spoon and stirred the tomato sauce waiting for Angela's questions. She didn't have to wait long.

"_Sooooooo….. ?"_ her mother started.

"_So?"_ Jane asked back, teasing the elder woman.

"Oh, come on Janie. You know what I mean. How is it going with Maura? By the way, I'm glad that you finally came to your senses and asked her out."

Jane rolled her eyes and chuckled. "_Ma, its all new yet. What can I say? We re happy." _

"_Did you sleep with her?"_

The brunette rolled her eyes again. She sighed. I don't see why it would be any of your business she replied. But yes. We had sex already. Must have been your lasagna or something. She winked to her mother whom replied: "_ohhhh. Good for you. Did you like it?"_

"_So much that I did it again this morning."_ Jane answered and took a beer out of the fridge to hide the blush.

Angela had a wide grin on her face. _"Good for you she repeated."_

Then she went over and hugged her daughter. _"I just want you to be happy. That's all." _

"_I know. Thank you, ma. I love you." _

"_I love you too Janie." _

_The hints were all there_ Jane mumbled to herself when they were lying in bed.

"_Sorry what?"_ Maura looked up from her book.

"_I'm just thinking about old times. Ma reminded me of some stuff…"_

The blonde had a puzzled expression on her face..

Jane took Maura's hand and started to explain. "_We kept giving signs to each other. Me asking you if it as just a sleepover or your way of telling me that you were attracted to me…"_

Maura groaned. _"God you gave me a heart attack that day."_ She said as she recalled the scene.

"_What if I had said it more seriously?"_ Jane mused.

"_I think that you couldn't have done that. You were probably scared." _

"_I was scared a lot in that time. Jane admitted. But we really had some serious conversations where it could all have come out. It wasn't just the right time… funny, isn't it?" _

Maura put her book on the nightstand and snuggled into Janes arms.

"_No, I don't think so. But now is the right time."_ She whispered and started to kiss Jane slowly and passionate at the same time.


	12. Chapter 13

13.

A knock on the door made Maura jump out of bed. What time was it? It was still dark outside, so they couldn't have overslept she thought. She looked at Jane who was sitting in bed, pointing the finger to her lips, her gun in the other hand. There was another knock. This is ridiculous Maura stated as she watched Jane sneak to the door.

"_Who is it?"_ The tall woman demanded to know.

"_Janie, its Frankie."_

Gun still in hand she opened the door.

"_What the hell are you doing here in the middle of night?"_ Jane asked her brother and a little bit of anger was swinging in the voice.

"_It's already 5:45!"_ Frankie stated. _"I just picked up some back up at the airport. Thought you wouldn't mind if he stayed in your room. So, Look who's here to help us!"_

He smiled proudly as Korsak appeared in the doorway.

Jane s face immediately brightened. _"Korsak!"_ She exclaimed and ran to hug him.

"_Oh my, I missed you all. You have no idea!"_

"_We missed you too."_ Maura said and gave him a hug too.

The two women settled on the bed, while the men sat down on the chairs. After being parted for so long a lot of questions flew back and forth. It turned out that kiki had had to stay in Miami to take care of Korsaks little zoo. He kept finding animals and brought them home which warmed Janes heart.

"_Whenever you find another Jo-Friday…"_ she started…

"_I'll give you a call, sure."_ Korsak chuckled. _"My wife will be very thankful."_

"_So how have you been?"_ Maura asked.

"_Good. It was a little bit hard to adjust to the new situation at the beginning. But once the bar was sold and we were settled it got fine. Even though I still miss work sometimes."_ the man with the grey hair admitted.

"_How about you? Frankie told me that you were still in Paris and Quantico?"_

Both women exchanged a look quickly.

"_Yeah. It was also very hard for us at the beginning. Each of us had to start a new life after all. But things are smooth now."_ Maura told him.

"_Yeah smooth, except for the witch hunt."_ Jane teased.

Korsak smiled at them. _"Yeah Frankie told me. I always thought that you two would make a perfect couple. And you could never be without each other. I wondered sometimes back in the days… I'm really glad that things worked out so well for you."_

"_Thank you Korsak",_ they replied unison and smiled.

It didn't take long for Jane to pack up her stuff to vacant the room for Korsak. Most of her belongings had already wandered into Maura's room over the last days anyway. While emptying the drawers of the nightstand, she watched her former colleague unpack. To her surprise he had even brought his own Laptop. One must go with the time he said as he saw the look on her face and smiled. She glanced over his desk and noticed how tiny he was. Very much unlike her who basically dropped her stuff somewhere only to have problems finding it later when needed. Even in Maura's room. Books were piled neatly and arranged on her friends' desk, while her side looked as if a huge tornado had passed just a few minutes ago.

She chuckled when Frankie came in with a pile of files, which he dropped on the desk. Leaving chaos. At least I am not the only one who's not so tidy Jane thought and smiled.

After all had settled in, they sat down in Maura's room again. Coffee mug in hand, the three filled Korsak in on what they knew. Then they left for the precinct, while he would stay in his room and study the files.

The day went by very fast. The group met from time to time in the squad room exchanging information and ideas. They seemed to make progress after all.

The entire group finally met at a Chinese restaurant to have some food.

"_Damn am I hungry."_ Jane stated when taking her seat next to Maura.

"_Janie, what have I told you about swearing?"_ Angela scolded her daughter.

"_Maa I am not a baby anymore. I'm grown up now." _

"_I can see that."_

The tall woman shot a look at Korsak who sat across from her, chuckling, shrugging.

It was another evening spent among the family and friends. And Maura enjoyed every minute of it. She couldn't help but love them all.

"_Maura help me."_ Jane pleaded at another typical Rizzoli ranting.

Jane suddenly had an earie feeling when she heard the squinting of tires. Was she really becoming paranoid or …?

Suddenly a car passed very fast in front of the restaurant. There were gunshots and the noise of breaking windows. People were screaming and running towards the back of the restaurant in panic.

Jane tried to grab Maura's hand, but couldn't find it. She just ducked under the table until it was over. Then silence spread except for the whimpering which came from here and there. The lights had gone out and it was pitch black in the building.

"_Stay down!"_ Korsak whispered. _"Maybe they come back."_

And thank god they did as he said. They shot a second round on the restaurant. Only when they heard the car speed away, they moved.

"_Is everybody ok?"_ Korsak spoke up again.

Jane lifted her head and saw dark shadows doing the same around her. She saw Frankie, Korsak, her mum, Michelle but no Maura. She started to panic.

"_Maura! Maura!"_ She shouted and became silent as she became aware of the shadow on the table next to her.

Then, her lover slowly pulled her head up and it looked as if she tried to focus on Jane_." I don't like window seats."_ she murmured and fell back onto the table.

"_It's ok baby!"_ Jane said, taking Maura's face in between her hands, crying.

"_I think I got shot."_ Were the last words the blonde mumbled before her head dropped to her chest and she became unconscious. Jane held her and screamed _"Noooooooooooooooo!"_

Jane found herself in the waiting area of the hospital. Her head was sunken between her hands which laid on her knees and she was staring at the linoleum floor. _Please let Maura live, please_. These words left her mouth like a mantra.

Her friend had been in surgery for five hours already. It was hard to believe that Maura had been shot. If Jane only had said something when the eerie feeling had showed. But on the other hand, this feeling could have also fooled her, like, when they had believed that someone was spying on them.

She had held Maura's head in between her hands, just like she did with her own head now, when it had suddenly dropped. The entire group had helped taking Maura to the floor and Jane had done CPR until the ambulance had arrived, which had seemed to be forever.

"_Don't you die on me Maura!"_ She had whispered while trying to save her live and in between her tears_. "Not now! Not here! Not now after I've just found you."_

Jane lifted her head in hope for news as soon she heard steps coming closer. But it was only a nurse who passed by to vanish in a room down the hall.

Her eyes lifted to the TV on the opposite wall. There was a report about the shooting. Frankie stared back at her from the huge screen almost blinded by the light from some camera team. Lots of police cars seemed to shine like little Christmas trees with their red lights, reflected by the windows of the neighboring buildings.

He looked so professional and confident. Jane admired her brother and sighed. When the ambulance for Maura had arrived, he had told her to go. _"Go Jane, he had said. she needs you. I've got this!"_

Jane had been so concentrated at the screen that she hadn't heard the woman approach.

"_This is so horrible! Can you believe this?"_ the stranger stated and sat down right next to her. "_There were several deaths they said on the radio when I drove my son here. Stupid kids, she continued without taking a break. He wanted to show his friends how brave he was and jumped from a bridge. As you can imagine that didn't go well. The poor idiot hadn't jumped where the water was, but right onto the concrete. She snored. It's not as if I had nothing better to do, than to sit here in the middle of the night and wait for him. Do you have kids?"_

Jane tilted her head.

"_Why are you here?"_

Jane felt tears dwelling up her eyes. She quickly excused herself and went to the bathroom. Where was Angela? She had promised to come as soon as she had given her statement to the police.

The strange women gave her a tissue when she returned to the waiting area. _"I don't know why you're here. And it's none of my business, but I pray for you." _

Jane took the tissue and dabbed at the tears running down her cheek. "_It's my friend."_ she managed to say. "_She was in the shooting."_ The brunette said and still felt shocked.

"_Sweet Jesus on a cake. That must be very hard." _

"_Yeah. It is."_ Jane answered and tried not to sob again

The old woman gave her a new tissue seeing that the other one was already wet. After hesitating a brief moment, she gave Jane the entire box.

Jane thanked her.

Then they heard steps again. This time Jane recognized them and sighed in relief.

"_Ma!_" She fell into her mother's arms.

"_Sorry Janie, the police kept us so long. Any news from Maura?"_ She asked.

"_Not yet."_

"_What on earth takes them so long?"_ Angela seemed to be annoyed but Jane knew that she was just worried. By the time the nurse arrived approximately one hour later, they were all worked up.

"_Mrs. Rizzoli?"_

Mother and daughter stood up which made the nurse look very irritated.

"_It's me_", Jane said impatiently. The nurse still looked confused. The doctor will be with you in ten minutes.

"_Is she..?"_ Angela looked at the nurse and Jane felt her heartbeat stop.

"_I'm really sorry but I can't tell you." _

They watched her walk away. "_At least we'll know soon Janie.",_ Angela said and hugged her daughter. _"Let s sit down till the doctor comes."_

"_I can't"_, Jane murmured and started to pace the waiting area nervously watching the clock in the hallway.

"_Not easy to have children eh?"_ The old woman said to Angela.

"_Never_", she replied. "_You always have to worry sick because you love them."_

The elder woman nodded_. "I know."_

The doctor led them into a small room. _"Please have a seat."_ Jane saw that he was tired.

He started by turning a computer monitor around so that they could see. The woman didn't know what they were looking at_. "That's Dr. Isles chest._" he stated. His pen pointed to a spot on the side. _"So, this is where the bullet entered the body. It punctured her lung and did quite some damage to the tissue there which led to internal bleeding. That's why it took us so long."_

"_Does that mean that she's alive?"_ Jane asked quietly.

"_Yes! Her status is still critical, and I can't promise anything but she's alive. We've already brought her to the ICU. One of you is allowed to visit her, but please make it short. She needs to rest."_

Angela watched as a nurse helped Jane put on the necessary clothes and the hat.

"_Tell her that we all love her."_ Angela said and her daughter could see the tears in her eyes.

"_I will."_ Jane promised, fighting back her own tears.

The room was filled with monitors and machines. She almost had a hard time finding her girlfriend in between all of these. She gave Maura a kiss on the forehead and said softly: _"Hey Maur."_ then she took Maura's hand and held it. _"Angela told me to say that they all love you. And of course, I love you too."_ she whispered not knowing if her friend could hear her.

Tears still ran down her cheeks as she sat in silence holding her hand. Not really knowing what to say.

Angela took Jane home to her house as the nurse stated that they better get some sleep. _"She's probably not going to wake up for some hours or maybe days."_ She said. But we'll call you as soon as anything happens, she promised. "_You can visit her again tomorrow_."

Jane felt exhausted as she laid down on the bed in the guest room. She turned to the empty spot next to her and sighed. Where do you turn to if your best friend is in trouble? The brunette thought and started to cry again.


	13. Chapter 14

When Jane went down to the kitchen to make breakfast the next morning, she found Frankie and Korsak sound asleep on the couch and the armchair. The hospital hadn't called which she took as a good sign. If Maura would have died.. no, she didn't want to go there. Her love had to live. There was no other acceptable option.

The pancakes were already almost finished when Frankie appeared at the kitchen door, rubbing his eyes. He looked as tired as she felt. She gave him a cup of coffee and watched him stretch and yawn.

"_Thank god ma bought a house big enough for all of us."_ she mused, hiding behind her cup.

Frankie simply nodded. "_I figured that no one should be alone in times like these."_ He muttered.

The siblings sat in silence poking around on their plates.

"_Any news from Maura yet_?" He asked after a while. Jane tilted her head. "_I'm going to check on her after breakfast."_

"_Tell me if you know more." _

"_I miss her."_ Jane sighed looking sad. _"Whenever something bad happened, I ran to her. But now I can't…."_. she felt tears dwelling up her eyes.

Frankie hugged her and said: "_She's a though one. She'll make it."_

Jane wasn't so sure of that. When she returned to the hospital a nurse informed her, that Maura's state hadn't changed. Jane had almost pulled her gun to force her to let her see her friend as the nurse insisted that Maura needed some rest.

All the machines were scary to Jane. The constant beeping and noises reminded her, that her girlfriends life was hanging on a golden thread. She took Maura's hand and sat next to her. She felt frustrated, scared and helpless.

"You have to life Maura. Please." Jane pleaded holding the blondes hand, trying not to cry.

She talked about various things. Then she just sat in silence, her brain felt empty and soar. Angela took over around midday so that Jane could leave and relax promising to call whenever there were any news. But instead of driving home, she was headed for the precinct. How could she possibly relax? She thought looking for distraction.

She was surprised to find Korsak in the squad room hanging up pictures to a white board. He explained to her, that he was permitted to assist on this case as a counselor now. Jane was sure, that he would have smiled in excitement if this wasn't such a sad situation.

"_They even gave me a gun."_ He stated.

"_Uh, I bet Kiki was happy to hear that."_ She muttered thinking of his wife.

"_Well, you know her, she is very supportive. But you're right, she doesn't like it at all."_

"_You know what yesterday's incident tells me_?" He asked his former partner.

"_That we've come very close to them."_ Jane answered glancing at the pictures on the board.

"_Right! Or at least they believe we have. We scare the hell out of them. Either that, or they are very angry about us. The riddles completely step out of their normal ways. And whoever is covering them from the government will be scared too. Maybe thinking about stopping the collaboration with them." _

The tall FBI agent let these words roll around her head and then agreed.

"_So, I bet that we have most of the parts from the puzzle. We just need to put them to where they belong to see the whole picture._" Korsak continued.

He pointed to the board_. "We have many pictures, and a lot of evidence. The lab is already working on the bullets used yesterday. The more they are scared or angry, the more evidence we get to tie the riddles down."_

Jane swallowed hard. Not long ago, Maura had said exactly the same thing. And she knew that both of them were right. But the question was, what else had to happen till they had enough evidence? One of them almost died.

Korsak seemed to have read her mind. "_She's going to be fine Jane."_

"_I hope so."_ she whispered blinking away a tear.

"_Maybe we should go someplace and grab some coffee."_ He suggested.

"_This is the best idea ever."_ She stated and brightened up a little.

Korsak informed her later in the car that the rest of the team had gone to question some witnesses and people.

"_I should be out there with them."_ Jane stated and felt guilty, chewing on her lips.

"_Don't be. You re doing your job equally by theorizing. Besides, no one else is as good at theorizing and interpreting clues as you are. That's why I sent you a picture of the white board." _He smirked. She couldn't help but chuckle at his nonchalance.

"_Thank you, Vince."_ She replied.

"_You're welcome." _Now he laughed too.

Jane drove back to the hospital after spending a lot of time with Korsak. They had developed some quit good theories. This made her feel good. Frankie had joined them and reported about the results of the questionings. Some interesting details had turned up.

And the Lab who mostly consisted from Maura's time as chief ME, and who liked her very much, had sped up and already delivered some preliminary results of the evidence collected at the Chinese restaurant. It felt as if their team doubled daily. Everybody wanted to help and didn't mind working over hours. While on the other hand the riddles seemed to become weaker and weaker. Jane really hoped that Korsak was right about the theory that whoever protected them would cease because it became too dangerous for them.

As she walked down the long hall of the ICU her heart almost dropped. Angela was standing outside of Maura's room, crying. A nurse tried to comfort her. But her mother really seemed to be shaken. Jane started to run towards them, feeling her heart thump wildly in her chest. Both women were looking up. Shocked.

"_What happened?"_ she asked when she could suddenly hear a very familiar voice.

"_For heaven's sake! You can't put an IV like that. According to a study in last month's Journal of…"_

Jane swung the door open to find Maura sitting on the bed talking to another nurse. She had an odd look on her face because of Janes sudden interruption. Also, kind of saying: did you really believe I would die?

Jane went over and took her into her arms, almost crying in relieve.

"_Thank god."_ she murmured into Maura's hair and tears of joy fell down her face.

"_Agent Rizzoli, you need to talk some sense into your friend. She wants to leave the hospital." _The nurse said and looked stern.

Jane turned to her girlfriend. "_Is that true?"_

"_Yes. I no longer want to stay here, where anybody can walk in and kill me. Besides we have a case to solve."_ Jane gasped.

"_Maura_", Jane rolled her eyes_. "We've got a police officer in front of your door 24/7. We won't let anybody kill you. Moreover, you had a very long operation yesterday. You need medical care."_

"_I know. Thank god I'm a doctor myself."_ The blonde stated.

"_You're a ME. that's not quite the same."_ Jane pointed out. _"Will you perform an autopsy on you if you're dead or what?"_

"_I'm not staying here. No offense"_, Maura said to the nurse, "_but you are definitely not up to date as far as treatment methods are concerned."_

The nurse snorted and left the room without further comments.

Jane did her best to make Maura stay at the hospital. And the blonde woman finally gave in when her friend promised her, to fill her in on what they knew.

Maura seemed to be touched, when hearing how everybody worked over hours to process the evidence in order to help her.

Jane left her friend to rest, after they had talked two hours about the case. Giving Maura a kiss to the top of her head, promising to return soon, she left the room with shaky feet. Maura was alive! She thanked god for hearing out her prayers.


	14. Chapter 15

the riddles sent another warning to the precinct the next day. The letter was found on a table in the cafeteria.

"_There are no fingerprints on the letter."_ Frankie stated to the tired crowd in the squad room.

_This is our last warning! Stop looking for us or you will die like you re colleague. _

"_I've received more convincing love letters like this one."_ Korsak stated sarcastically and snorted after reading the letter.

The fact that they didn't knew that Maura was still alive showed for the first time how much the whole situation was getting out of their enemies' hand. It led them to the assumption that whoever had protected the riddles from the government no longer supplied information to the them.

But the warning was clear so Jane and Korsak decided to move to Angela's place, where they had an alarm system in addition to the police protection. The agent felt like an intruder to Maura's privacy when packing up her stuff as she still hurt and couldn't do it herself. It reminded her how fresh this relationship still was.

Angela was glad to help and insisted on staying with them when Frankie told her to go and visit an aunt in California. Her kids tried to convince her that she would be saver at another place, but she wouldn't have it.

"_I'm never going to leave my family when it needs me."_ The matriarch stated and ended all discussion with a dismissive wave. _"Moreover, Maura will need help when coming home and you all have to work."_ The older woman argued.

"_So, can I have a gun now?"_ Maura nudged Jane who had come to visit.

"_How many times have we talked about this?"_ the agent replied, rolling her eyes and feeling a bit tense, even though it had only been a joke.

"_Exactly. And I still have o gun to protect me if necessary."_ The blonde pointed out, far more serious now..

"_That's because uhm…."_ You have an officer in front of your door who will protect you.

"_I know how to use a gun._" Maura stated and appeared to be offended.

"_I know Maur",_ Jane finally sighed, _"but I can't just give you a gun. You have to pass tests before you get to be allowed to carry one. It's the law." _

Jane stroke over Maura's hand while they sat in silence for a while.

Thank god, Maura healed well, and she would soon be back at home with her she thought. Only one or two more days the doctors said. the agent wondered if the riddles had already found out that Maura was still alive. She prayed to god that they hadn't. and she hoped that their relationship wouldn't be damaged as she felt the sudden uneasiness between them.

When lying in bed later she turned to Maura's side, like she did every evening. It was as empty as she felt without Maura. They exchanged some texts, but the usual fire was missing. Jane tried to distract herself from all the worries by watching a funny Meryl Streep movie, feeling completely soar and drained.

Her phone started to ring towards the end of the film.

"_Hey Frankie_", she greeted her brother.

"_Jane, we have another incident. I'll send you a message with the address. Hurry!"_

Stunned the agent stared at her phone. She couldn't believe the address. Her stunning turned into shock, when her assumption was proofed that the incident had happened at Frankie's. Or better said in front of his house.

The firefighters were just busy putting out the fire on the cross when she slammed the door of the old Ford and ran to her brother.

"_So, can I swear now?"_ She muttered under her breath, hugging Frankie.

"_Janie, you know that you can always swear with me."_ He answered, giving her a dry smile.

"_How are you?"_ She asked her brother who appeared to be very composed for the fact that a woman was burning on a cross right in front of his house.

"_I'm fine. I sent Michelle to her Parents who live in Ohio. If it was me, I would have sent her too moon because Ohio wouldn't be far enough."_

Frankie nodded. "_I tried. But Michelle meant that I was ridiculous."_

"_Why didn't you come to stay at ma's house?"_

"_I was about to pack some stuff and come over afterwards. But then the cross was already burning…."_

Unfortunately, he hadn't seen much.

"_I was up in the bedroom, packing a duffle bag…."_ He stated at her question.

And he hadn't really heard something alarming.

Just the neighbors dogs barking. But they are barking all the time so that wouldn't have given me a clue.

Jane sighed. It would be a long night again and she wasn't really looking forward to it. She sent Maura a message when alone in the car, telling her about what had happened. but Maura didn't reply. Maybe she's still mad somehow or sleeping, Jane thought. Or … She sighed changing the direction of her thoughts and quickly texted Frankie, that they would meet at the precinct later. Better check on her she thought. If she's just mad or asleep its fine. As long as she's fine.

Jane was relieved when she found Maura sound asleep in her bed. She greeted officer Paulson when leaving the room and headed for the precinct.

They are really getting on my nerves. Korsak grunted as she entered the room. Can't they just stop doing shit for one day?

Jane agreed and rubbed her eyes. She took a cup of coffee from the old detective and sipped in silence while Korsak summarized what they had. Same game as a few days ago. Finding out who the dead woman was, searching for evidence….

Her brother was sitting at the end of the table. Was he shaking a little bit? Jane wondered. He must be shocked after all.

Jane crept into bed when the sun was rising outside. Feeling exhausted and guilty. Maura needed rest to recover, but her message from the previous evening wouldn't help. She wouldn't be surprised if her girlfriend would even want to perform the autopsy. Before Jane knew it she fell into a restless sleep dreaming of burning crosses.


	15. Chapter 17

"_Maura and i had a long talk yesterday."_ Jane told Frankie while sitting in the car. Observing a man who had visited the riddles website the day before. Somehow IT had been able to identify him.

"_I hope you're not breaking up."_ Frankie looked concerned.

"_No, we took some very important decisions though and if you tell ma what I'm about o tell you I'm gonna kill you."_ Frankie rolled his eyes. "_You know that she'll kill me too if she senses that I have a secret."_ He smirked.

"_Ok. So, I won't tell you then."_ Jane said and chuckled knowing that her brother would want to know the news.

"_Just spill it Janie!"_ He snorted.

"_Ok._" Jane said, eager to tell him. "_We decided to move back to Boston, taking on our old jobs."_

Frankie cheered. "_That's great Janie!"_ He exclaimed and hugged her.

"_I've also got some news to tell you. Michelle is pregnant!"_ he blurted out.

"Uhhh I can't believe it. How wonderful!" Jane felt excited about the news. And Frankie looked very happy too.

"_So, we are going to have a lot to celebrate on thanksgiving."_ He said with a wide grin.

They hugged each other and laughed.

"_You are going to be a great dad."_ Jane said to her little brother feeling very proud of him.

"_I hope so."_ He muttered.

"_I'm pretty sure of it. When are you going to tell ma?"_

"_We don't know yet. You?"_

"_We neither. We first want to settle some things first." _

"_Let's hope you will get done that in time before ma finds out herself."_ Frankie took a bite from a sandwich and chuckled.

Suddenly, Jane spotted the man in the rearview mirror.

"_He's leaving the house."_ she told Frankie who immediately put his sandwich away.

They watched as the man climbed into a car and followed him down to the main road. The plan was to find out more about him. They hoped to catch him doing something bad, so they could offer him a deal. They would make him a snitch and infiltrate the riddles in exchange for a lesser charge. According to the IT guys he wanted the riddle to help him get rid of his wife. That would make a great deal for them.

Korsak and another police officer took over after five hours. The siblings felt deceived for they had hoped that the man would go to a bank, to withdraw the money for the murder. But he didn't. _"Maybe tonight or tomorrow."_ Frankie mused pulling into their mothers' driveway.

"_I've checked for some houses today."_ Maura said, when they were alone in their room. _"I hope you don't mind. If you feel pressured, please say so. But I couldn't help. I'm so glad about our decisions."_

"_Have you told ma?"_ Jane asked.

Maura shook her head and chuckled. "_No way. She asked a few times though, what we have been talking about yesterday in the guestroom."_

Jane knew that her mother could be great at finding out about other people's secrets. Especially the ones from her kids. Therefore, she felt relieved and sat down next to Maura on the bed. "_Show me what you found."_ she asked and Maura opened her laptop.

"_I looked for a small house with a garden."_ She explained while opening some pages showing some of her results to Jane who softly kissed her neck from time to time.

"_We have a different idea of small houses."_ she mused chuckling when Maura clicked through the pages. Some of the real estate's even had guest houses.

"_Yeah, but you never know what's going to happen. And I need space for my stuff."_ Jane immediately had a vision of a wardrobe as big as her old apartment and chuckled.

"_I like this one_." she said and looked amazed at the pictures of a typical Boston house. _"And it has two garages and is close to the sea, where we used to run. I'm going to check the neighborhood for criminals and…."_

"_What?"_ Maura interrupted laughing.

We are quite a couple Jane thought amused.

They had a lot of fun and couldn't stop giggling and grinning. Once Angela entered the room Maura quickly closed the laptop.

"_Sounds like a party is going on here."_ Angela noted. "_What's so funny?"_

"_Uhhhh oh, we're just joking around here."_ Jane said before Maura could open her mouth. She knew that Maura couldn't lie, and she wanted to keep this a secret for a little bit.

Jane, sensing that her mother was a bit lonely proposed to go downstairs to watch a movie together. There was nothing better than a good glass of wine and a funny movie to relax.

The man went to the bank the next day after another contact with the riddles the previous day.

His wife is probably sound asleep, and he is organizing a hit man to kill her. Frankie stated while watching the bank.

"_No advertisement for a marriage huh?"_ Jane replied.

"_Thank good not all marriages are like this."_ Frankie mumbled thinking of him and Kiki.

Jane thought about all the cases of home violence she had witnessed as a young officer and had to admit that it was one reason why she had been reluctant to board a relationship at all.

She remembered the previous evening and hoped that it wouldn't end like this with Maura and her.

The man came out and put his duffle bag on the passenger's seat. It looked fuller than before.

They both got out of their car and Frankie knocked on the driver's window. Jane saw immediately that the man was nervous. She kept her hand close to her gun as you never knew how some people would react.

"_Sir, we would like you to come with us to the police station."_ her brother said calmly, showing his badge.

"_Why? It's not like I robbed the bank or so."_ The man replied, his hands rubbing nervously over his thighs.

"_Then you have nothing to fear right?"_ Frankie replied. Still calm.

"_Don't make me take out my gun."_ Jane talked for the first time using a warning voice and standing in a way that the man could see her FBI badge and her hand at her gun. The guy nodded and got off the car.

"_You can take your duffle bag with you."_ Jane said.

The man looked shocked but did as he was told.

A quick check of his duffle bag proofed them right. He had about 200 thousand Dollars In it. That's what a human's life is worth Jane thought sadly when she sat down at the table on the opposite side of the man.

"_Quite a lot of money which you have in your bag."_ Frankie started after dictating their names, date and time. _"What do you need it for?"_

The man was still rubbing his hands on his pants looked around nervously.

"_I need it to buy a house."_ he muttered.

"_You are not a very good liar Bradley."_ Frankie noted_. "We know and can proof that you are planning to have your wife killed." _

He waited as silence spread into the room, Jane sitting at her chair watching the scene without talking.

The interview ended quickly as the man finally admitted to the accusations. Jane and Frankie were happy after having sealed the deal with the man who was just about leaving the police station followed by Korsak and officer Paulson.

"_Do you think that he's going to play foul?"_ Frankie asked Jane who was just tanking a sip from her coffee.

"_I don't think so, she said. Seeing as how nervous he was. He is a coward. That's also why he needed the riddles. He couldn't have killed his wife on his own."_

"_This whole thing_", Frankie made a gesture with his hands, _"makes me think that the name riddles comes from getting rid of someone."_

"_Yeah. It really does_." His sister admitted. "_I don't see a religious cult behind this anymore. Just some hitman, with good connections to a person at the government."_

"_That's it!"_ She suddenly exclaimed. "_Maybe we can find that person if we checked for deceased partners."_

Frankie clicked. "_You mean that they killed someone for this Man from the government. And now they are blackmailing him?"_

"_Yes! Exactly. It's possible, isn't it?"_

"_So, if we're right, and he decided not to protect them any longer, he's in huge danger."_

Jane nodded. "_And this whole thing about the religious cult is just hokey pokey to intimidate people or get rid of some bodies. I don't think that they would have to spread scare and terror if they were so dangerous. I mean, they are dangerous. But not as mighty as they made us believe. They have made one mistake after the other since we appeared."_

"_That's true."_ Frankie confirmed and put his empty cup on the table. "_And that in return means that they are neither untouchable nor invincible." _

Jane nodded again.

Tonight's dinner at the Rizzoli household was delicious as always. Though it contained vegetables, which was probably Maura's doing Jane mused and watched her girlfriend dig in. she wondered if Maura had any news about houses. After being interrupted by her mum the previous day, they hadn't talked about it anymore. Maura winked at her several times over dinner and smiled happily. Jane sighed.

Frankie and she found themselves in the kitchen afterwards, cleaning the dishes.

"_We should buy her a dishwasher."_ he whispered, and both laughed.

"_Yeah, I actually feel like 15 again, when I still lived at home." _

"_Me too."_ her brother said. _"Only that now we are older. And we still have to wash the dishes.."_

"And we still have to do what ma orders." Jane replied.

They both laughed and rolled their eyes.

"_You seem to enjoy that."_ Angela stated when she came into the kitchen. Her kids rolled their eyes once more. "_I'm not going to interrupt you for long. I'm just fetching some ice cream for dessert. Maura and I decided to watch a movie if you want to join us after you're done."_

They wanted to watch the movie too. So, half an hour later the Rizzoli Clan had settled on the couch and the chairs in the living room. Angela had bought the favorite ice cream of each member of the family. And they were happy. Jane was surprised when Maura snuggled into her in front of the family. She could see that Angela grinned. She took a cover as she felt that Maura was cold and put it carefully over them.

Frankie smirked in a way which made Jane laugh. Then he winked at her and smiled before returning his eyes to the screen.

She helped Maura to take a shower and brought her to bed, to then take a shower herself. When she entered room, Jane found Maura reading a book, which she had bought for her today. She knew that it wasn't Maura's genre, but the blonde surprised her again by giggling about the thriller.

"_What? You're going into reading thrillers now?"_ She asked astonished.

"_I never would have thought that they could be so fun."_ Maura answered grinning.

"_Thrillers should be full of suspense."_ Jane replied wisely and said: _"Give me the book. I just want to check if you haven't just put the cover of the thriller over one of your scientific books."_

Maura was laughing hard. _"I think I start to get your jokes Janie."_

The other woman rolled her eyes dramatically. "_Anarchy!_" She exclaimed with a dramatic tone. _"Everywhere I look I see anarchy. Ma cooking vegetables, you are doing what you want. We are all doomed!"_

Maura couldn't stop laughing to Janes delight. The brunette couldn't help but to join in.

"_I have called the real estate agent for the house you were interested in while your mum was shopping."_ Maura told Jane later. "It is still on sale._ What do you say? Or do you want to see if there is another house?"_

Jane smirked. _"You know how I love shopping. I think that the million houses which we looked at yesterday offer enough choice. But to me the one feels perfect. How about you?" _

"_It looks perfect to me too."_ Maura replied._" And we didn't look at a million houses yesterday!"_

Jane chuckled_. "Well it felt like it."_ She replied rolling her eyes but chuckled.

"Did you actually do your check on the neighbors? Any mass murders among them?"

Jane blushed for a second having a hard time to admit that she had checked_. "Uuuhhhm well, I couldn't find anything or anyone suspicious." _

Maura nudged her. _"It's ok you know. And I totally get it after all the stuff we have seen."_

"_Thank you for understanding."_ Jane smiled still feeling a little bit weird about it. But it was just as Maura had said. They had seen lots of crazy things in their career.

"_So, I make an appointment with the real estate agent that we can take a look at the house?"_

"_Sure. Just tell me when it is. I'll come and pick you up." _

Both couldn't really believe that they were doing it for real. They hugged and kissed.

"_Can you…?"_ Jane asked feeling aroused. Maura looked puzzled.

"_Can I what?"_ Maura still looked puzzled and a little bit scared.

"_Uhhhhm I'd like to sleep with you_." Jane mumbled shyly.

Maura chuckled and seemed to relax_. I don't know. But I d love to find out she whispered. But honestly im more scared about Angela coming in_.

Jane rolled her eyes, feeling like a teenager. She looked around thoughtful. Then jumped of the bed and put a chair under the handle_. "Problem solved_!" she exclaimed with a wide smile.

It was the sweetest lovemaking Jane had ever experienced.

"_I've never had such an attentive and careful lover before!"_ Maura mumbled as they were lying entangled in bed.


	16. Chapter 18

"_Is Maura already allowed to have sex?"_ Angela asked the next morning.

Jane almost spilled her coffee over the kitchen counter. _"What?"_

"_Oh, come on Jane, I heard you last night."_ Her mother smirked.

The sex had been so good, that some moaning escaped them. But she wasn't aware that they had been so loud, that Angela could hear them.

She blushed but composed herself quickly. _"Well now you have at least an answer to one of your questions. She replied."_ Hiding her grin behind the coffee cup.

They were sitting in the squad room working on the details of their plan when Janes phone buzzed. She had texted Maura earlier to inform her that Angela knew about their activities last night. At least she wouldn't encounter her mother without preparation.

Now Maura's reply had arrived: "we need our own place, soon!" Jane already had to chuckle after the first line. Maura was absolutely right. "_I've made an appointment to see the house at 2 pm. Please let me know if its ok for you." _

"_I need to be away for a few hours in the afternoon."_ she stated when they made a plan for the day and split up the work. "_Maura has a doctor's appointment and we need to check something beforehand." _

Frankie's eyes beamed as she looked at him. Hi made sign of a house and Jane nodded. And he started to beam more, happy to have his sister back in town.

"Its okay, I can make time." Jane wrote to Maura adding several smiling emojis. _"I'm looking forward to it. Pick you up at 1:30 pm."_

"_I'm glad I saved so much money_." Jane said seeing the house. it was much more beautiful than on the pictures she d seen.

"_You don't have to pay for it all alone."_ Maura reminded Jane softly of her trust fund.

"_I know, but I don't want you to pay for everything."_ She said and kissed Maura gently.

The real estate agenent greeted them friendly and introduced them to another couple who showed interest on the house. Jane tried to stay calm about it when wandering through the rooms. This was really her dream home with big, open rooms and the surrounding garden. By the look at Maura she could tell that she also loved it.

"_Its perfect_" she whispered to Maura, who was also excited. "_We need to set our limit concerning the bet. The other couple looks rich."_ Maura furrowed her eyebrows at Janes comment. "_How about we set our limit to the worth of the estate? And if it the other ones offer exceed our limit, we talk about a new limit?"_

Jane was thankful to have Maura on her side. The blonde was far more cool and experienced. So, she agreed and let her do the talking when it came to the bidding. The other couple was also eager to have the property, so it wouldn't be an easy fight.

They started by showing off, telling about how many houses they had, as if this place would make a perfect match to their collection, while for Jane and Maura it would be a home.

She admired Maura for her self control. The ME made it clear right away that she had no interest in the other ones bragging. But also, that their possessions didnt impresse her. Well herfamily owned several museums and places.

The bidding seemed to go on forever. They weren't prepared for another couple, so they hadn't planned so much time. The brunette glanced at her watch, hoping that Frankie had everything under control.

Jane might not be good at bidding but she was good at seeing behind the masks of people.

"_You know, the house is nice. But the neighborhood is middle class. I mean honestly, what will your friends think of you, if you invited them to a party in this surrounding."_ She stated as they were coming close to their limit.

She watched in amusement as their jaws dropped and they started to look around. She winked at Maura who had a _seriously Jane?_ Look on her face.

"She's right." the woman said to her husband, "We can't do this." He looked around himself and agreed. "_We're out_!" He said and shook their hands in gratulation. "_It's yours!"_

The real estate agent was steaming in anger when the other couple left, but he didn't dare to say much.

Jane didn't care. The house belonged to the bank. And banks are rich. Everybody knows that. And then it suddenly hit her, that it would be theirs soon and she looked at Maura and couldn't help but jump in joy.

"_You must now just sign the papers and transfer the money and move in, the realtor said smiling at Janes and Maura's happy faces. Honestly, I'm glad you got it_", he finally admitted. _"I didn't like them. But as it happens, they found another dreamhouse. I just received a text that they want to meet again."_

"_Wow, that was fast!"_ Jane muttered. Meaning their buying of a house, but also the other one's couple decision on another one.

"_At the end its win win for the realtor."_ Maura said smiling. "_Maybe now he is going to sell two houses in a day."_

They looked at each other and laughed.

"_I still can't believe it!"_ Jane mumbled when they were waiting for the doctor at the hospital. _"We just bought a house." _

"_I know!"_ Maura said and looked very happy.

"_Now we can tell ma. And for the first time in my life, I can give her big news without her finding out first."_ She chuckled.

The check up at the hospital didn't take long. Maura was healing well. So, Jane allowed her to come to the precinct with her.

Everybody cheered and was happy to see her when they entered the squad room, and then at the morgue and in the lab too. Jane was very protective and ordered Maura to sit everywhere they went. Maura greeted her old, new colleagues and made the announcement that she would be chief Me again in February. People whistled and clapped their hands. One made his way to Maura and said: welcome back boss! And Maura had to fight back her tears.

"_And most of all I d like to thank you for your support and your prayers."_ She continued her little speech. _"Jane told me how you have worked your asses off to help find the persons who did this to me. Her words not mine." _she added and winked at her girlfriend. Everybody laughed.

"_We should have a party."_ Martin, one of the Me s noted.

Maura who saw Jane stand-up said: "_That's a great idea. But not today. I still need a lot of rest. But I m looking forward to it when I'm back in February."_

Jane watched Maura as they drove home. She looked exhausted but happy and this made her happy too.

"_Long exciting day."_ Jane said with a smile and put her hand on Maura's knee while driving.

"_Yes. That's true.I definitely need a bed now."_

"_So, no telling ma about the great news ha?"_ Jane almost felt deceived.

"_No, we re going to tell her, when we're home. As long as I can sit on the couch and eat ice cream_." The blonde laughed.

Jane chuckled.

She helped Maura to the couch and then brought her the ice cream. Angela looked worried.

"_What have you two girls been doing all day? Jane Rizzoli, can't you see that the poor thing needs a lot of rest?"_

"_It was my idea."_ Maura stated weakly from the couch, waving with her spoon

Angela raised an eyebrow as in disbelief. "_So, anyway. What have you done_?" She wanted to know.

"_Ma, why don't you sit down?"_

"_Omg, you've got married without me?" _Angela pouted.

Maura chuckled from the couch. Still eating ice cream.

"_Nope!"_ Jane replied seriously. "_But we have given some thoughts to some of your questions."_

Angela snorted. _"Jane Rizzoli stop fooling me. Don't tell me that you have taken me serious for once."_

"_Maaaaa!"_ Jane exclaimed and rolled her eyes. "_Do you want to know or not?"_

Angela looked at Maura who beamed even though she was very tired.

"_Ok. So, spill it Janie!"_

"_All right. We had some decisions to take. Seeing as how we would be thousand miles apart, once the case was solved."_

"_I'm listening…."_ Her mother muttered.

"_So. Maura will move back to the states in January." _

"_I like that"._ Angela muttered again.

"_Yes, me too!"_ Jane paused and smiled happily at Maura. "_The next step was to find out where to live. And if we would move in together."_

"_The last one should be easy._" Angela smirked. "_You practically lived together in the past."_

"_Yes, right."_ Jane agreed patiently. Trying not to smirk too.

"_For heavens sake Jane, just tell her our conclusions_." Maura stated from the couch.

"_All right."_ Jane muttered because she started feeling tired too. "_We bought us a house today. Here in Boston. And we were offered our old jobs, which we accepted._"

Now Angela sat down. "_Are you joking?"_

Maura sat up and confirmed that it was all true.

Angela suddenly jumped up and shouted "_wohoooooooo!"_ Then she gave them both a hug.

"_Never ever would I have believed that you'd return!"_ she mumbled in disbelief.

"_Me neither."_ Jane muttered, hardly believing it herself.

They spent some more time talking about their new home and Maura's warm welcome at the precinct. "_You should have seen her ma_" Jane gleamed proud with her eyes, "_they were all so happy to have her back._"

"_I bet they did."_ Angela toasted to Maura with her glass of chardonnay which Maura had given her as a goodbye present before leaving for France. "_It's a wonder that the whole thing didn't collapse without both of you. Thank god they had Frankie."_

They all laughed.

"_How true."_ Jane said. "_He is really great at his job, you know?" _She said full of pride.

"_I'm proud of all of my four kids."_ Angela noted and Maura felt touched that Angela counted her as one of hers.

"_Finding a house which conveyed us both was not easy at all. It should be big enough for my stuff, but not too big for Jane. And Jane even checked the criminal record of the house and the neighbors to make sure that nothing bad had ever happened there." _Maura spoke up.

Jane rolled her eyes and cringed.

But her mother found that brilliant to Janes surprise and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "_That's my Janie. She's a good girl_."

"_Yes, she is."_ Maura confirmed. "_I couldn't wish for a better partner." _

Jane blinked back the tears, and all hugged again.


	17. Chapter 16

When Jane awoke around 12 pm she felt a terrible headache. Frankie and Korsak were already drinking coffee and chatting in the kitchen about the case. Jane poured herself a cup of coffee thinking about how it had become strange between Maura and her yesterday. Just like it had in France. Had she done something wrong? She asked herself. Or was it just a coincidence? She had spent a lot of time in the hospital with her friend and always kept her posted on the case. Her mind searched for anything that could have upset Maura but couldn't find no reason.

Maura had written her while she was sleeping, that she would be ready to be picked up at 2pm and Jane had to admit that she was scared that the mood between them would be still award. She decided to wait and see and to go as it went.

The autopsy was set to be around 4 pm by a colleague suggested by Maura. So, the agent would stay home and prepare everything for her girlfriend and only drive to the precinct after picking her girlfriend up.

The awkward feeling was still there when she entered the room at the hospital. Maura would barley kiss her or talk which was strange because her girlfriend used to talk a lot. But Jane knew better than asking. She silently helped her friend into the car and drove her home. It was almost November and most of the leaves had fallen from the trees already.

If you give me a list, I can buy you some books or journals that you like she offered to Maura who still didn't talk much. "No, its ok Jane." she muttered and crawled under the covers. Jane fought with herself whether to ask if something was wrong but decided to leave everything like it was for the moment. Maybe she would ask when she came home from work.

She greeted the officer in front of Angela's house with a nod and hopped into the car.

The autopsy was well underway when her phone buzzed. She quickly read the message from Maura, who suggested to check the body for …. Well she couldn't even read the word. But the Me nodded as she showed the phone to her.

The victim was a Jane doe, because unlike the previous time they hadn't been able to identify her yet. This time the body was in much better shape as the fire men hadn't waited as long as they had the last time to extinguish the fire. Only a little part of the head was burned while the rest of the body was intact.

"_They are getting sloppy_", Korsak noted and Jane agreed with a nod thinking that she would discuss the autopsy report with Maura in the evening, if her friend was up to it.

When she came home at 7 pm, Maura was sitting in the kitchen watching Angela cook.

"_Taking some cooking classes?"_ Jane tried to sound light and funny when greeting both women. There was not much of a reaction. So, Jane sighed and slipped the autopsy report to Maura who barely glanced at it.

"_It also includes the results of the blood tests from our last victim."_ she stated and saw her mother giving them an odd look. What the hell was wrong? Jane thought while standing under the shower.

She got dressed and went to dinner. There was still silence, expect for her mothers talk about various topics.

"For heaven's sake Maur. Just s_pill it!"_ Jane said, when they were settling in the guestroom for the night growing weary about the situation.

"_Jane….."_ Maura answered. "_There is nothing wrong, I'm tired. I just want to sleep."_

The brunette hesitated for a moment then spoke more softly. _"Maur I know that something is wrong. You re barley looked at the autopsy report. You barely spoke to me in the last days. I have the same odd feeling I had on my last days in Paris. I don't want this to happen again."_ She pleaded. And it was true. She couldn't take it if Maura bailed out on her after starting a relationship with her. But the actual mood was even harder to take.

Maura sighed and turned of the light.

Jane felt angry and scared and tried to make herself comfortable by crossing her arms under her head. She could hear the other woman breathe.

"_Is it because I refused to give you a gun?"_ The agent finally asked.

"_Nooo, I knew that you wouldn't give me one anyway."_ Maura replied.

"_So, what is it then?"_ Jane asked gingerly, bracing herself.

Maura sighed again. "_I'm scared."_ she finally whispered into the dark.

Jane lay in silence, waiting for further explanations, giving her girlfriend time to find the right words and the strength.

When nothing more came, she silently asked: _"Are you breaking up with me?"_

Maura's head flew into her direction. "_Do you want to break up_?"

"No" Jane said without further comments.

She could feel Maura nodding on the other side of the bed. "_Me neither."_ she whispered.

Jane relaxed a bit.

"_I got a visit from my mom the other day." Maura told Jane. "I told her about us. I've never seen her look so deceived and it hurt me. I mean she of all persons…. How can she judge me?"_ Her voice shook.

"_Oh Maura,"_ Jane said and rolled over to her to put an arm around her. "_I'm so sorry. That must really hurt."_

"_I knew that there is a lot of discrimination against homosexuals. But I just didn't expect that from my birthmother you know?"_ The blonde choked on some tears.

Jane held girlfriend close as she cried. "_I'm so soo sorry. That is not fair."_ She whispered. "_Maybe she was just shocked and turns around."_ She then suggested.

"_I don't think so",_ Maura replied and whipped away some tears. _"I realized that you are my family. You were always there when I needed someone. You always took care of me. I didn't mean to be rude to you. I'm sorry. It's all just so overwhelming." _

"I missed you Jane." Maura finally said after a while. "I missed us…. I would never break up!" she stated.

"_I missed you too._", Jane said and could feel that she was about to cry herself.

The next day Jane found Maura sitting in the kitchen, reading the autopsy report.

"_Good morning Jane."_ She greeted with a smile. _"I made you some coffee."_

They kissed and Jane helped herself to a cup. "_You know you should rest, do you? You had a severe operation."_ The brunette scolded a little, worried that Maura would overdo it.

She took a sip and sighed. "_You make the best coffee in the world though."_ she muttered and smiled.

"_Right, as if you would do that."_ Maura nudged her friend who was standing next to her at the counter.

Jane smirked knowing that Maura was right. She would also move around and do stuff instead of staying in bed.

"_I found some interesting things in the report._" Maura stated. "_There is a substance which is only used for antifreeze normally._"

"_What the hell?"_ Jane replied, furrowing her eyebrows. "_Why would they do that? Torture?"_

"_I told you not to swear Jane! And for heaven's sake, let Maura rest!"_ Angela ranted as she entered the kitchen.

"_Maaa!"_ Jane exclaimed.

"_I don't know. I once read an article that Nazis did some similar experiments to the Jews during the second world war."_ Maura replied ignoring the typical Rizzoli exchange. "_But that's probably why they didn't want us to find the autopsy report and killed the ME." _

"_Maybe it's less about a witch hunt than covering something else. Anyways, it would explain why the brunt the victims."_ Jane mused.

"_You know I don't speculate_." Maura chuckled.

"Good, because that is my job." Jane replied and rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Good", Maura said and chuckled too.

Jane felt much better after knowing that everything was ok between her and Maura. The crowd gathered later in the squad room and talked the case over while a security company was setting up cameras at Angela's property.

There was a lot of pressure and things were speeding up as the lab was able to present some interesting evidence on the fire from the new incident. The riddles were definitely getting sloppy and this was really good.

When the lot returned home, dinner was already ready, and they dug into Angela's delicious self-made Ravioli.

Maura snuggled comfortably into Janes arms when they were settled in bed.

"_I gave my notice to the university today."_ Maura said.

Jane rose an eyebrow. _"Uhh so it's serious_?" She asked and couldn't help but smile.

"_Yes. They were very sad, but its ok. With my qualifications I can find a job everywhere. I was even offered to be the chief medical examiner of Boston again."_

"_So, when will you return to the states?_" Jane asked.

"_By the end of this term. So, in January."_ Maura stated_." But there is no pressure. We have lots of time to think what we want to do." _

Jane nodded considering her own wishes.

"_I've always wanted to have a small house with a garden."_ She said to Maura.

"_Me too."_ The blonde answered. "_Like the one of the professors."_

It felt kind of strange to both women. None of their relationships had ever come so far as to move in with their partner. They got silent for a while, contemplating this situation.

"_So, do you want to wait with moving in together?_" Jane asked. _"Or do we move in together when we return to Boston right away?_

"_No."_ Maura replied. "_You?"_

Jane shook her head_. "No. that would be great. Scary but great she chuckled. I mean we've already spent so much time together, that it already qualifies as living together."_ She chuckled when recalling all the sleepovers.

"_True."_ Maura admitted laughing.

"_So at least we have clarified this one now." _

"_Yeah puhh."_ Maura joked.

"_I've got offered a job by the BPD too."_ Jane noted.

"_So, where does this lead us?"_ Maura asked with furrowed eyebrows. "_Going back to the jobs we fled?" _

"_Could you imagine doing so?"_ Jane asked.

"_Actually yes. I don't like to teach anyway."_

Jane tilted her head. "_No, I don't like teaching either. And I can't believe I say this. but I'd like to move back to Boston." _

"_Your mom will be delighted." _Maura mused and Jane smirked.

"_So, Boston it is_?" the brunette asked.

"_Yes."_ Maura confirmed.

With that settled they turned on the TV to watch some movie together and to relax. Both ended up falling asleep before it had finished, being absolutely exhausted.


	18. Chapter 8

8 Dinner at Angela's

The two women went for a run the next day before driving to the precinct to meet up with Frankie.

"Uhhh the coffee hasn't changed much." Jane noticed after taking a sip.

"_Still the same coffee machine"_ Frankie said with a smirk.

"_Next time we ll bring our own coffee"_ Jane stated, and Frankie chuckled.

"_Hope you'll bring one for me too." _

"_Sure!"_ The brunette replied.

"_So, let me summarize what we have,"_ Jane continued. _"A religious group called the riddles which has been murdering witches since god knows when. A pig heart delivered to the precinct – probably as a warning, a dead medical examiner – probably killed because we would have found something interesting in the autopsy report from our Jane doe killed in 1970, and a murder which is supposed to happen soon."_

"_Jap",_ Frankie confirmed.

Jane sighed and leaned back in her chair thinking.

"_The professors blood test came back clean."_ Maura added and looked up from the file she had just read.

_I'm not surprised_ Jane murmured_. "The professor was an old man. No need to sedate him before killing him with a hammer, right?"_

"_How big could this group be? Or how small at least?"_ Jane asked Maura.

"_I d say that two people would be enough to commit the murders" _the medical examiner said_. "but the question is why we find articles about the murders on the Boston Chronicle kept at Quantico, but not here in Boston? The librarian reassured me that they had scanned the original papers and that nothing was missing. Which could mean, that the riddles have influence on the library."_

"_The question which bugs me the most is what the FBI knows?"_ Frankie added to the conversation.

"_All good questions_ Jane stated. I….

The brunette got interrupted by an opening door.

"_Maaa!"_ Jane and Frankie exclaimed at the same time.

"_What?"_ Angela replied. Entering the room with a basket. _"If the prophet doesn't come to the mountain, the mountain has to come to the prophet eh?"_

"_Ma, we re in the middle of something here!"_ Jane said, watching Angela pulling out some cookies out of her basket.

"_Jane Rizzoli! Where are you re manners young lady! Is this the way you greet your mother after not seeing her for two years?"_

Jane cringed. Her mother was right. But was it really necessary to show up unannounced at her work? Wasn't that just one of the reasons why she had fled to Quantico? She really loved Angela but sometimes it was just too much.

Jane saw that her mother was hurt. She got up and gave her a long hug._ "I'm sorry Ma. It s just that we really have a difficult case. What about us coming by later and having dinner together?"_

Angela wiped a tear from the edge of her eyes_. "Okay"_ she said. _"it's just that I haven't seen you in a long time and I missed you, you know."_

"_I missed you too Ma"_, Jane answered. And she really meant it.

"_And Maura….."_ now it was the blonde's turn to get hugged. _"I missed you too. Its so good to see you all together again."_

"_I missed you too Angela"_ Maura replied honestly.

"_See you tonight ladies"_ Angela said and waved leaving the room.

"_And what about me?"_ Frankie shouted after his mother. Angela popped her head back into the door again_."I see you almost every day Frankie"_ she said and disappeared.

Jane smiled. "_No luck Frankie_." She teased him and earned a nudge.

"_Thank god Angela's Muffins haven't changed"_ Maura stated as she munched on one.

The siblings looked at her in disbelieve and started to chuckle.

They continued to discuss the case while eating, and finally got some new ideas how to proceed.

"_Come on Maur!"_ Jane shouted lying on Maura's bed. _"We are going to be late for dinner." _

"_I'm almost done."_ Maura shouted back. _"I just want to look ok."_

"_Ok?"_ Jane asked as the blonde emerged from the bathroom. _"You are beautiful!"_

"_Thank you."_ Maura replied feeling flattered.

"_Besides it's not as if Ma hasn't seen you before you know?" _

Maura smiled. "_I know. Its just…. I don't know."_ Jane knew. it was different now, that they were dating. She would have felt the same.

She grabbed the car keys, rolling her eyes. _"We are not going to talk about us, are we?"_

"_No, I think its too early." _Maura replied to Janes relieve.

"_Good."_

They kissed quickly and left for the car. "_As I've already said Dr. Isles, one day you are going to kill me."_ Jane chuckled, thinking how wonderful Maura looked.

Maura grunted. "_Or you, detective Rizzoli, kill me first._"

"_Yeah and poor Frankie will have to solve the murder haha."_

They both laughed and got into the car.

It smelled great when they entered the Rizzoli home. A loud rumbling sound emerged from Janes stomach giving away how hungry she was. Angela greeted them heartedly with a hug and asked them to go to the dining room. Frankie and Michelle – his girlfriend – were already there. Setting the table for the dinner. Jane also gave both a quick hug.

The lasagna was delicious, and Maura couldn't help but moan when she took the first bite.

The family spent the entire evening talking about their lives. It felt good to catch up Jane thought to herself. .

Frankie stated that Angela had begged him to marry his girlfriend so that Jane would come to Boston and they all laughed.

"_Nothing wrong with that!"_ Angela stated and smiled.

_Well I guess I ll come to Boston more often then."_ Jane noted.

"_Me too"_, Maura said and smiled.

"_Yeah and you can of course bring your partners…"_ Angela added, and Jane almost choked on her beer while Maura suddenly focused on her meal.

Angela immediately looked suspicious.

Frankie tried to help them by stating: "Ma, maybe they are single."

"_Single? Look at them, they look guilty as hell. I don't get the fuss about always being so secretive about Janes love life. I don't really get it."_ She seemed to be angry, but also sad.

Jane looked at her mother. Searching her mind for the right words. Then she glanced at Maura who slightly nodded.

So, the brunette took a deep breath: _"Ma, it has nothing to do with you. It's just that its complicated and I have a hard time talking about it because I'm not good at this."_

"_For heaven's sake Janie, just spit it out." _

"_Ok, I'm uhm gay." _

Angela shrugged_. "I've known that for a long time Janie. Maybe even before you wanted to acknowledge it. I still love you. Your girlfriend is also welcome of course…_" Jane melted a little and hugged her mother.

"_The other thing is",_ Jane continued after a thoughtful pause" that_ I'm seeing someone. But it's very fresh." _

Angela nodded. I get that. So you want to wait with telling me, when you know more.

As Angela turned to Maura to ask her about her love life it clicked. Maura was still focused on her plate, which probably gave her away. Especially after her face was all read.

The click was followed by a wide smile. I knew it Angela exclaimed. I knew it.

Well, Jane thought the plan to hide it from her mum had definitely not functioned. As they went into a big hug she remembered Maura's and her conversation from earlier.

"_Oh great!" _Maura replied. _"What will she cook?"_

Jane looked astonished. _"We are going to have dinner with the greatest spy of the world, and you re only thought is about food?"_

Maura chuckled. _"Oh, you mean we should be worried about her finding out, that we are dating?"_

"_Well, yeah."_ Jane replied.

"_We will just behave Jane. And she won't find out. We are going to be fine. You will watch a match with your brothers and I ll help Angela in the kitchen."_

So much for that.

"_Are you going to move back to Boston then?"_ Angela asked in excitement.

"_We don't know yet ma, we only had one date so far. Its really new and we haven't talked about it yet."_

" _Don't pressure them Frankie said_ and laid a hand on Angela's arm. _"Just let them work out their stuff." _He earned a grateful look from both women.

"_Yeah, of course you re right."_ their mother admitted and apologized.

Jane thanked Frankie later when washing the dishes. _"Thank YOU Janie"_ he replied. _"Now I will hopefully get rid of the pressure to marry Michelle."_ he smirked. "_Ah that won't happen sorry." _She replied knowing her mother. _"Yeah, she can be very persistent."_ They giggled. _"I hope ma isn't torturing our girlfriends right now he added."_ Now it was janes turn to smirk. Probably she has already found out, that we haven't had sex yet she said.

Frankie had a thoughtful expression on his face. _"Its ok Janie. Don't let ma pressure you. Take your time. I bet that it must be a little bit difficult."_

"_Hell yeah. Its just that you know this person so well. But its different to know someone as a friend or a lover. Sometimes it still feels weird to kiss her. So, its very confusing." _

I bet it is he stated.

She told him that their mother had asked her about a relationship with Maura years ago.

"_Was it so obvious?"_ She asked.

"_Not to me, her brother replied. To me you were just Maura and Jane. And what you did was just your typical behavior with each other. Maybe because you were so different characters. Maura always the serious lady and you the wild tomboy. I guess that I could have seen that you are gay, but I didn't. Probably because it didn't matter. I just took you how you were you know?"_

Jane felt tears dwelling up her eyes. She definitely had the sweetest brother in the world.

They finished their work in silence, reflecting.

" Jane stated once they were heading back to the hotel.

Suddenly both started laughing.

"_Angela should have become a detective."_ Maura noted.

Jane smirked. The killers would have fled from Boston.

"_Haha yes."_

The brunette let her hand wander onto Maura's tight while holding the wheel with the other one. The blonde gasped in delight of this surprising feeling. Jane was immediately aroused by that sound. Initially she had planned to ask Maura out for a drink. But now she had something else in mind and she couldn't wait to get back to the room.

Once the door was closed behind them Maura dragged Jane to the bed. They started kissing and touching each other.

"_You can say stop anytime if you re not ready to go further."_ Jane whispered in between the kisses.

Maura nodded and started to pull Janes shirt over the brunettes' head. Bodies melted again and eyes full of fire and lust locked when Jane unbuttoned Maura's blouse. Jane had had sex with some women, but she had never been turned on like she was now. She sat on Maura who was lying on her back as she opened more buttons and smiled.

"_What"?_ Maura gasped.

"_You are so beautiful you know?"_ Jane mumbled.

The blonde blushed.

Soon after, both were naked, Jane still on top of Maura swinging in their own world were only the two of them existed until they both came at the same time.

Afterwards, jane stroke over Maura's hair and forehead and gave her a soft kiss.

"_Hi"_ Maura whispered with a wide smile on her face.

"_Hey",_ Jane replied equally softly.

They stayed in their entangled position for a very long time.

"_Oh god",_ Jane mumbled into the dark. _"You made me so hot that I almost came in the car." _

Maura shifted her position so that she could see janes face a little bit better.

"_Hell, I almost came when you put your hand on my tight. I was so surprised."_ She giggled.

"_I was surprised too, believe me",_ Jane replied and giggled too.

"_Can I ask you something Maur?"_

"_Sure, anything you want."_

"_Have you ever had a relationship with a woman before?"_

"_No, no never. In hindsight I d say that it was because they weren't you."_ Maura blushed a little.

"_I'm so much in love with you Maura."_ Jane whispered.

"_I'm also in love with you Jane Rizzoli."_

"_I hope ma didn't torture you while Frankie and I were in the kitchen."_

"_No. of course she asked certain questions but actually she was very nice and happy for us both. But she was right. We must come up with a plan. Because when this case is solved…. "_

"_I know. I ll be back In Quantico and you a few thousand miles away. The joke with the second date…"_ she muttered.

"_What's that?"_ Maura asked.

"_What does a lesbian bring to a second date?"_

Maura shrugged. _"I don't know."_

"_A U haul."_

Jane was surprised that the blonde found the joke funny_. "Uhhh so I guess we wait with the second date, right?" _

The brunette chuckled. _"We have to anyway…"_

"_I would love to come back to the states."_ Maura said after a while.

"_Thank god, Jane replied, I already saw myself eating snails and frog legs for the rest of my life."_

"_Ahhh, the cuisine is not so bad there you know?"_ Maura chuckled and slapped Jane playfully. "_But does that mean that you would have moved to Paris?"_

"_For you? Yes. But I wonder what I would have worked there….."_

"_So, I d say we just see as it goes and try to come up with something reasonable?"_

"_Sounds like a good plan."_ Jane said and sighed.

"_Can I also ask you something?"_

"_Sure Maur." _

"_When did you know that you had feelings for me?"_

"_Uhhhm, I always cared for you a lot, you know that."_

"_Yes, but when did you know that it was more than friendship?"_

Jane sighed. _"I guess I've known for a long time, but I ignored it. I also ignored that I was gay. Don't ask me why. I can't tell you. Things started cooking in Paris. When I realized how much I would miss you. And that this feeling was far beyond friendship. But again, I didn't want to acknowledge that I was gay myself. That's probably why everything got sour. After our last fight I was sure to have you out of my live. And I thought that it was probably better that way. But hell, believe me, there was hardly a day on which I didn't miss you or haven't thought about you."_

"_Hmmm"_

"_How about you?"_ Jane now also rolled to her side to face Maura.

"_Pretty much the same I guess." she mumbled. "It didn't occur to me right away. To me it also was friendship. And I didn't want to pass behind that because I was scared to lose you. I didn't know that you were gay too, nor that you had the same feelings. But I didn't want to talk about it either because I had tried twice at college, and it ended bad each time. So I thought better shut up and be happy with what you have. At the end it had all become too much and I jumped at the opportunity to spent a year away to relax and reflect. It seemed like we were too close in the wrong way if it makes sense to you. I didn't to me at the time and that's what I wanted to figure out. But then you left for Quantico. our fight in Paris left me clueless to what was going on. Today I d say that all these feelings had driven us mad. When you ran out on me I thought that I d never see you again. I kept contact to Angela, sometimes I asked her about you. But she never asked what happened between us. I was surprised to learn that you hadn't had contact to your family either."_

"_Yeah. Because as you said. it had been all too much. And with my family being so close I couldn't figure who I was. I felt lost because my entire world fell apart in just a second. Korsak retiring and leaving for Miami, you leave for France. So, I hoped to find me there and make a new life. I wasn't mad at them. But I just needed some break. Otherwise I'd probably still ignore the fact that I'm gay."_ She chuckled_. "Or maybe I would have gone mad or so."_

"_And did you find yourself?"_

"_Not really. I learned stuff about me, but as I've said. you were always on my mind. Did you find in Paris what you were looking for?"_

"_Not really either I guess. It's a wonderful place to live. But I also had the feeling that my world was upside down. New job, new people and nobody back in Boston except for Angela and Frankie." _


	19. Chapter 19

Jane and Frankie looked through the window into the interview room where a very nervous Bradly chewed on his fingernails. The riddles had been informed by him, that he had the money ready but that he wasn't able to wire it to the named bank account. Moreover, he was instructed to state, that he wanted to know who he was dealing with, in order to make sure, that he would really get what he payed for.

It was clearly a long shot. But it was worth a try. Especially after the riddles had lately made some serious mistakes. Bradley had been surveyed all the time to make sure he wouldn't do something stupid like warning them or running away.

The riddles had written him in earlier conversations that they would make his wife disappear. And that it was all he needed to know. He just had to file a missing person's report afterwards.

Maura had come up with the idea, that they were possibly using alleged murder victims for some secret tests.

So, they had had the idea to survey Bradley s wife too and follow the abductors. but they kept Bradley in the dark about that plan. If the riddles wouldn't agree on what he had written so far, they would have another chance to find them. The second one was probably even the better one.

The talk with him had been more difficult than the last time. It was obvious that Bradley was more scared of the riddles than of the police. Therefore, they really had to watch him very closely.

Jane and Korsak were to take the first shift in an unmarked car. They followed Bradley around.

"He is a busy man." Korsak grunted as they drove from the barber's shop to the shopping center.

"Any idea what he does for a living?"

The brunette tilted her head. "He told us that he owned a car repair shop in Boston, which was confirmed by our research. But he leaves the work to his employee."

"One employee? Wow! he must make a lot of money then." Her former partner snorted.

"Yes. You get it." Jane smirked.

"If his wife dies, he gets about one million Dollars from her life insurance." Korsak informed Jane what he had found out while they were interviewing Bradley.

Jane whistled thoughtfully through her teeth. "Now that's a motive. I bet he urgently needs the money."

"Probably he was going to close down his shop then and make a new start on the Bahamas." Korsak mused.

"Well that plan is gone." Jane chuckled.

"He withdrew the money for the hitman from her bank account." Korsak chuckled too. "Mr. Bradley will be in deep trouble when she finds out."

"I wonder if he drives around to annoy us." Jane stated as they got off the car to follow their target into the shopping mall.

"Or he tries to get rid of us. So, he can have a nice little chat with the riddles."

"I really hope that he s not as stupid as that. If he tells them they will close down their website and we will lose them."

"Exactly." Korsak pointed out.

"So, we better not mess this up." Jane stated with furrowed eyebrows.

"Nope!" The older man said.

Frankie and officer Paulson took over around 6 pm. By then Jane and Korsak felt exhausted from babysitting Bradley. There was not a single minute, were they could relax or even eat something.

"Have fun!" Korsak said sarcastically to Frankie who snorted.

They both enjoyed a meal, which to Janes surprise was delicious even though she didn't like vegetables. Well, she thought to herself, I better get used to it, now that I'm going to move in with Maura.

When finished she enjoyed a long bath with the blonde to fall asleep soon after.

**Maura**

Maura was reading a book Jane had brought her the other day. It was another thriller. She didn't think that she would enjoy such trivial literature so much.

The healing went very well, and therefore every day she could accomplish more. She even had tried a small walk around the block this morning. Angela had asked her not to go alone. But as everybody was working and she didn't want to wait, she walked by herself. Enjoying the peace and the autumn.

The sun was shining, and the leaves hat produced a soft golden carpet on the ground. This was her favorite time of year. When sitting on a bench in the park she thought about how happy she was. Still part of the Rizzoli Clan she had a home for her heart.

Something she had never experienced until meeting them. Anger crept up her heart when she remembered how Hope, her birthmother, had reacted to her coming out and the relationship to Jane. She sighed silently. It hurt her that her birthmother couldn't accept who she was. As if being gay would change everything. Maura had read about these prejudices, had even expected to encounter them. But not from her own family. After the experience with hope, Maura was reluctant to tell her adoptive family about her relationship with Jane. Of course, she would open to them. But not now.

Jane had said that she had to wait. Maybe Hope would come around eventually. Was it true? He possibility was there. It might have shocked hope. But Maura was not sure. They hadn't had contact their fight in the hospital.

She was glad to have Jane back in her live. And to life their love story was even better after selling her house I beacon Hill she had felt, that she would never find another home like that anymore. But when leaving for Paris she hadn't wanted to keep it. She wanted a change. To leave it all behind. Now she didn't regret her decision. Buying a new home with Jane was much better. All things happen for a reason, Angela always said, and Maua agreed. Sometimes you had to give up something to get something better.

Maura thought about the future and started to organize things. Moving her stuff back from Paris wouldn't be that much of a trouble, as she didn't have much stuff there. But moving what she still had in Boston – which were most of her belongings – would be much harder.

They would meet with the realtor soon to get the keys to their new home and she couldn't wait to go shopping for furniture and a new car.

Jane filled her in on the case every evening when they settled for bed. They discussed the case before enjoying themselves. Her heart always jumped slightly when she thought about Jane. Like whenever she received a message from her during the day. Sometimes it was about the case, other times simple messages like: _how are you? I'm sitting here thinking about you, I love you. _Maura had never experienced a real relationship and sometimes she felt overwhelmed by the new feelings, twists and turns.

After spending some nice time in the park, she strolled home. Taking in the fresh autumn air. Live was great, she thought and smiled happy.


	20. Chapter 20

23

Jane and Korsaks surveillance shift started at 6 am. The IT had informed them, that there had been no communication between the riddles and Bradley during the night. At least not from his IP address.

I wonder were he takes us today. The former detective stated yawning.

Jane rolled her eyes as she took a bite from a doughnut.

They sat in silence and watched his wife leave, followed by another surveillance team.

How s it going with Kiki? Jane asked using the waiting time to catch up with Korsak.

Good. He smiled.

Im happy to hear that. Jane smiled too.

Never ever would I have believed to work with you again. Korsak said, sipping coffee.

Me neither. Jane chuckled. Becoming serious she added: but I like it.

Yeah, me too. Just like in old times.

Bradley seemed to be tired too of driving around all the time. He stayed in their whole shift.

Maybe he has caught the flu. Jane mused when heading to the precinct.

This guy is really incredible. Korsak noted. He never works. Either he sits around all day, planning to kill his wife or he spends his time driving around and spending her money.

I would have kicked him out a long time ago. Jane stated.

He's definitely no keeper. Her partner snorted.

That's for sure. Jane laughed.

Oh my, love is a mysterious thing….. he sang.

Late in the afternoon the riddles sent a reply to Bradleys request. Jane held her breath when opening it.

Dear friend,

Unfortunately, we can't meet as we need to protect us and our circle. We think that you also understand, that the service can only be provided when the money is wired to the given account Please let us know if you are still interested by sending us a reply.

Regards,

The riddle

There was a strange sign next to the name. It consisted of a flower hung on a cross upside down.

Really? Frankie snorted at the sight of the sign. No one had truly believed that the riddles would be ready to show themselves. But they had to try everything.

So, now it was Plan B. they would let Bradley wire the money and reply that he was still interested in the deal. His wife would get a 24/7 surveillance in order to protect her. The problem was, that they just couldn't make her a snitch without her own agreement which led to a debate how to approach the subject, without shying her away. If she didn't agree on helping them, they would have to find another solution.

I don't like this. Korsak murmured when they stood in front of the office of Bradley s wife.

Me neither Jane answered and sighed.

He held the door open for his partner and followed her through a big hallway to the reception desk. It was clear that the woman must earn a lot of money, as she worked in the management of a high profile automotive company.

The more I learn about them, the less I understand why they are together. Jane whispered to Korsak who nodded.

It s the law of attraction: opposites always attract each other. He whispered.

Jane thought about herself and Maura. But if you really thought about it, they weren't so different after all. They had the same values and shared the same passions.

Boston PD Jane heard Korsak present himself to a young woman who looked overworked while standing in front of a painting. We would like to speak to Mrs. Rover.

I m sorry, but if you want to talk to her you need an appointment. Do you have an appointment? The woman asked, well knowing that they had none.

Look, Korsak started again, I ve already worked as a detective when you weren't even born. How often do you think did I already hear that joke? It is an urgent matter and we need to speak her now!

The receptionist shot Jane who a questioning look. It is true, it is vital that we talk to your boss now. She stated.

The secretary finally made a call. Agent Rizzoli from the FBI and Detective Korsak from the BPD would like to see you for an urgent matter. They could see her listen carefully.

Then she led them into a spacious office. A tall blonde woman greeted them friendly and offered them a chair and something to drink.

Both sat down decline the offer for coffee. Jane watched the woman closely. She must be in her fourties justlike brad she mused. But she had definitely already had a facelift and maybe other changemets done to her body because these boobs weren't natural. Her desk was well organized and she closed her laptop as she sat down herself.

Nice office. Korsak remarked and mothed Janes thoughts. The woman smiled. Thank you. With the time im spending here it needs to be nice and comfortable.

So, please tell me why you re here. I bet that it must be serious if the FBI wants to see me.

Jane nodded. Unfortunately yes. I hope you understand that we cant give you too much details. But we ve become aware of the fact that someone has ordered a hitman to kill you.

The blonde woman on the other side of the desk laid back against her Lehne and looked thoughtful. Jane had chosen the direct way because this woman was obviously used to cut to the point due to her job. Still she was astonished that Mrs. Rover, Bradleys wife, didn't seem to be shocked at all. But she was clearly thinking who the person was who wanted to see her dead.

Who? The blonde asked.

Mrs. Rover, Jane continued ignoring the question. She would find out anyway, but it didn't seem the right time to tell her that her husband was a very bad person.

We are here because we need your help to catch the hitman. Im not going to lie to you. Its dangerous even though we give you protection. But there is always a risk.

She watched the blonde woman as she put her fingertips together in front of her body. After closing her eyes for a short moment she asked: what would I have to do?

Basically live your live till the hitman tries to strike.

You know who wants me dead?

Yes we do. Korsak confirmed speaking up for the first time since they had entered the room.

Is he going to jail for it? She asked.

Well, we will charge him with attempted murder for sure.

Mrs. Rover was still thoughtful. Usually these operation have a good outcome right?

Jane hesitated. She thought that it would be unfair to lie to the woman, even though she didn't want to scare her away.

As I ve said. I want to be honest with you. We would protect you, but there is never a guarantee that it goes well. Still we hope for your help.

I really appreciate your honesty agent Rizzoli the blonde said leaning forword towards them. You seem to be trustworthy. That's why I agree to help you with this. But you will have to give me further instructions. And I want to know who wants to see me dead.

Jane still found it odd, that the woman was still so calm and reasonable. Most of the people would have a nervous breakdown or anything. It was almost a relieve when she finally noticed a little bit of nervousness in the blonde.

Is it my husband? Mrs. Rover demanded.

Jane nodded slowly.

That son of a bitch. She muttered. I knew that he was bad so I filed for divorce last week. We had had marital problems for a while now because he does nothing but sit on his ass and spend my money. I also suspect him to have a girlfriend. But I would never have thought that he would go as far as to hire a hitman. On the other hand I should have known. He always leaves it to other peoble to solve his problems. He s not only faul but also a coward.

We are really sorry. Korsak stated.

Don't be she said. None of this is your fault. Just promise me to not let him get away with it.

He wont. Jane said. Believe me. We have him under surveillance and we have too much evidence against him. He s not going to get away with it.

The blonde nodded. Ok. She sighed. We are also hopefully going to catch your hitman. Maybe the two can share a cell then.

Mrs. Rover was very cooperative. She seemed to be less scared than the officers. But she was reluctant to spend another night at home with her husband which she had too. It would be alarming to the killer if she changed any routine or morveto a hotel. Jane understood all to well that she was facing some very uncomfortable situations. But they agreed that her husband wouldn't be informed that she knew. it would be easier for her to pretend that she wasn't aware at all.

Jane came to realize that this woman already had had some hard times in live which had made her a tough business woman on one side, but also a hard woman.

When they came back to the precinct Frankie already awaited them with news. He had found out who had helped the riddles to get away with their murders for years.

At the end it was not so hard, he told them while they were settling down in the squad room. Korsak and Jane filled Frankie in on what they had done and learned too after Frankie had told them how he had found out. No doubt that they were closing in on the riddles.

There was just one thing that nobody understood. Why the ritual murders? How did that add up to the hitman? These were two different shoes.

Frankie and Korsak hoped to get some answers from senator Craves who had protected the riddles for some years. They would go and see him right after the meeting.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day started with a meeting in the squad room. Maura had decided that she felt well enough to join the team again. But Jane secretly suspected that she got bored of staying home. It felt somewhat strange to drive to work together and she wondered if they would do that more often, when they were back in Boston.

Sipping coffee, she tried to concentrate on Frankie's and Korsaks story about their interview with senator Crave yesterday evening. It turned out, that senator Crave hadn't been happy about Frankie's and Korsaks visit at all. But he had finally let them in.

"_You should have seen him."_ Frankie chuckled. "_He was all nervous and denied knowing anything about the case."_

"_Yeah. He started to tell us, that his wife had run away, and that she was safe."_ Korsak snorted.

"_Every time we asked him a question about his wife, he became more nervous. His story must have changed about six times. First, she was in Spain, the next time in France… the poor guy is not a good liar as a politician is doubtlessly supposed to be."_ Frankie added. _"And of course, he had no clue as to who the riddles are." _

"_Of course,…"_ Jane stated and rolled her eyes. "_How could he_?"

Both men chuckled.

"_At the end he threw us out, threatening to sue us for defamation."_

"_So, all in all you learned nothing new?"_ Maura participated in the conversation for the first time.

"_Unfortunately, not."_ Frankie said. _"We know that he's lying, but we need something more to nail him." _

Jane watched as Maura thoughtfully furrowed her eyebrows. _"Can you check his phone record to see who he called after you left? Maybe he called someone of the riddles. So, we could pin a number to them." _

"_We need a judge to sign a warrant to be able to do that. But it's a great idea, Maura!"_ Korsak said. _"I know a judge who might be willing to help me. He owes me a favor. I'm going to call him as soon as we are finished with our meeting. But let's put not too much hope in it. Maybe they communicate over pre-paid phones."_

"_I know."_ Maura said. "_But given the fact, that they already made some really stupid mistakes, we might get lucky."_

"_Anything new from Mrs. Rover?" _Jane asked changing the subject.

"_Not so far. She's following her everyday routine. She makes it easy for the surveillance team to tail her. Mrs. Rover even allowed an officer to stay into her motel room."_

"_I would do the same."_ Jane remarked_. "Seeing as to the fact that her husband wants her dead. How did her husband take that?"_

"_Not well."_ Korsak chuckled.

They talked on for a little while. Most about the question how the ritual murders added up to the riddles business of killing people as hitman. But no one had a clue.

"_We are going to find out eventually."_ Frankie, the optimist said.

"_I hope so."_ his sister replied.

Afterwards Maura went into the morgue to take a look at the two cross victims from last week while Korsak and Jane went to visit a witness who had called in the previous day in regard of the shooting. In the meantime, Frankie would join the surveillance team.

The judge was reluctant to give them the warrant at first. Jane didn't know why he owed her partner a favor. But she mused that it must be a big one. Because at the end they've got it. And that was the main thing.

As they arrived at the address, Jane noticed that the Chinese restaurant was just a block away across the street. The windows had already been replaced. She decided to take a closer look and went over. The owner showed a morbid humor by hanging a sign to the door. We are closed for renovation but will open soon again. You don't have to shoot us; we serve our delicious food to everyone for a reasonable price.

Korsak read the sign too and started to laugh.

An elderly woman opened the door after the second ring of the doorbell. She wore an apron and it smelled like she was baking something. Jane apologized for interrupting. The woman smiled and said: "_Don't worry sweetie, I'm almost done."_

They were shown to a nice, cozy living room and sat down while the woman went into the kitchen to make some coffee and finish up.

"_It smells heavenly Mrs. Barcley."_ Korsak noted after she had returned with a tray of tea and cookies.

"_Thank you."_ The old woman smiled. "_I thought you would come later. By then the cookies would have cooled down a little. But I guess its also fine in a few minutes_." She poured them some tea in old-fashioned cups which reminded Jane of her grandmothers and sat down.

They started by some small talk. But Mrs. Bradley soon came to the reason why they were here. Korsak who had just finished eating a cookie took an old notebook out of his pocket to take some notes.

Mrs. Bradley pointed out of the living room window which gave a good view to the restaurant and the street. _"So, I was sitting here and watching TV as I heard the car speeding down the street. She stated. I didn't look until I heard the gun shots. You must know that people around here are driving like nuts all the time. By the time I was at the window, the car was gone."_ An apologetical smile hushed over her crinkled face. _"I'm 85 years old, she noted proudly, so It takes me a while to move around. I looked at the restaurant and what was going on after calling 911."_ Jane watched her taking out a modern mobile of the pocket of her apron. "_My daughter gave it to me, she smiled proudly. So, I can call for help if I fall or so."_ She gave a snorting sound.

"Anyway, after a few minutes I heard the car speeding down the street again. It was a white pick up truck. A Ford, I think. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember. "_I was able to see that it was a Boston license plate which started with… uhm… let me see_", now she took out a notebook, flipping through the pages_. "Ahh yes, there it is. The license plate had the numbers 356 and a Y in it. Does that help you?"_

"Yes, this is_ perfect Mrs. Barcley."_ Jane said and smiled. "_You would make a great detective."_

The elderly woman blushed a little at the compliment. _"Thank you my dear. I've always been interested in crime stories. And my daughter showed me how to use podcasts so that I can listen to true crime stories."_ She blushed again.

"_But I have to say, that I like the crime better when it comes from my phone than when it happens in front of my doorstep."_

"_I totally understand that."_ Jane replied. "_It must have been terrible for you."_

The old woman gave a thoughtful nod. Then she told them how it had scared her at first. _"That's why it took me so long to call you." _

Jane wondered why no police officer had taken her statement that night. Usually they were supposed to comb the neighborhood for witnesses. She would have to talk with Frankie about that.

They thanked Mrs. Barcley and left with a huge box of cookies each.

Korsak was on the phone as soon they had reached the car asking somebody to check for a white pickup truck – presumably a Ford – with a Y and the number 356 in the license plate. _"That should be easy."_ he told Jane when hanging up. "_Yeah. Unless the plates are stolen."_ She replied thoughtfully.

"_By the way."_ he continued, "_senator craves made a call after Frankie and I had left. Maybe Maura was right." _

"_Do they know who he called."_ Jane asked smiling when thinking of Maura.

"_Not yet."_ Korsak replied. "_But they are working on it." _

They headed to the precinct to do some paperwork and called it a day at 7 pm.

It smelled great as usual, when they returned to the casa Rizzoli. A smiling Angela greeted them with some homemade Pizza.

"_Ma, where are the vegetables?"_ Jane asked jokingly after taking a bite.

Angela rolled her eyes and threw a napkin at her daughter.

They all laughed.

"_So, when are you going to move into your home?" _

"_We just have to sign the papers."_ Maura stated.

"_Wohoo_", Korsak said and toasted to them with his wine.

"_But of course, we will stay a little bit longer with you, if we are allowed."_ Maura said and Angela seemed relieved to have them around a little bit longer.

"_Ok. But no more ranting about the food."_ She snorted.

Jane smiled. She loved her family. And she loved Maura. She sipped at her wine, leaned back in her chair and watched them joke and laugh and tease.

Later they made themselves comfortable in front of the TV with ice cream and the cookies from Mrs. Barcley.

When in bed, Jane listened to Maura's even breaths. She had fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow. No wonder Jane thought. Her first day at work. Maura had texted her during the afternoon, that the money had arrived at the bank and that they could sign the papers and pick up the keys for their new home if they wanted to. She felt excited even though she was tired to death.

Both had agreed to drive to the bank tomorrow eager to get their new home. Unless they couldn't leave work. Then It would have to wait till the day after tomorrow.

Smiling, Jane fell into a deep sleep with Maura snuggled into her arms.


	22. Chapter 22

They woke up in a good mood the next day. After some pancakes and coffee, they drove off to the precinct where Frankie awaited them with bad news. The license plates had been stolen and the phone number called by the senator belonged to a prepaid phone which they couldn't locate. And so far, nobody had tried to abduct Mrs. Rover.

After the meeting Jane sat at her old desk for a long time, thinking. These were too many dead ends for her taste.

Maura showed at 10 pm which cheered her up a little.

"_Are you ready?"_ Maura asked in excitement.

"_Sure as hell!"_ Jane replied and grabbed her jacket to drive to the bank, feeling excited too.

It only took a few minutes to sign the papers and Maura took the keys from the realtor who wished them well. Maura still couldn't believe it as she looked at the keys in her hand. She asked if they could stop by a car seller on their way home and Jane agreed.

They had returned the rental a few days ago, now using Michelle's car, who was still with her parents. It was about time to get their own car for sure. At least one now, then when they had moved back to Boston a second car.

It still sounded strange to Jane_. When we are back in Boston_… she sighed and threw Maura a smile. The blonde replied the smile.

"_I hope you don't regret it."_ Jane stated.

"_No, not at all."_ Maura replied. "_I hope you don't regret it either."_

Jane chuckled. "_If you don't make me eat vegetables every day, we will be fine."_ She smirked in a joke.

Maura acted as if she was offended. _"What?" _

They both laughed.

Jane had to admit that she felt a little bit nervous even if she knew that it was all right but…. Of course, they had spent a lot of time at each other places. But sharing a place was a completely different story. And Jane had never done that with a lover before. It probably meant a lot of adjustment and compromise to both of them. Plus giving up private spaces. Everybody had preferences for everything. And that could be hard.

When she glanced at Maura, she saw that the blonde was also thoughtful.

A little discussion occurred as Maura wanted a Japanese car, while Jane tended more to the US cars. Adjustment Jane thought, as she finally gave in to Maura's wish. She rolled her eyes when they looked through the exposed models. But was happy to see Maura so excited.

"_I'm sure this one looks great in blue."_ Maura stated dragging Jane to a Prius.

"_You already had one in blue."_ Jane noted.

"_I know, its because the color fits best to this car."_ Maura winked to Jane who snorted.

"_You only want this because you know that I feel ridiculous driving such a car."_ Jane teased the blonde.

Maura chuckled. _"You shouldn't be. It is absolutely state of the art, its economic and good for the environment." _The blonde paused.

"_Yeah, and it looks like a piece of junk." _

Maura hesitated. "_Well, uhm, aren't the inner values the most important?"_

"_So, you admit, that it looks like a piece of junk?"_ Jane chuckled.

The blond rolled her eyes. "_It's a really nice car. I like it. Even if its design is uhm a little bit strange."_

They both laughed.

After buying the car, they drove to their new home. Jane had the feeling that she would have to make more adjustments and compromise, when Maura measured the rooms for the furniture. Ok, she thought, we found a house which matched our both desires. Now we have to find a couch which is comfortable and stylish. Not like the one in Maura's office, Jane rolled her eyes when she remembered that piece of furniture. Which by the way had been thrown out immediately by the new Chief ME. But finding a compromise wouldn't be a problem for sure. She chuckled and smiled as she watched an excited Maura noting some measurements on her phone.

As Angela had been eager to see the house and they were eager to show it to her she had called her and asked her to come over.

They were just going upstairs, when the doorbell rang.

"_Our first visitor in our new home." _Maura said and opened the door with a wide smile.

Angela first words were: "_Wow! That's even better than beacon hill." _

Angela obviously loved the house and congratulated them on it.

"_I guess my Babies are grownups now."_ she suddenly said, with a melancholic look on her face. "_Don't get me wrong"_, she continued as she saw Janes concerned expression. _"I'm happy for you. But I come to realize that i have to let you go. And it hurts to realize that you don't need me anymore_."

The older woman whipped a tear from her face and smiled apologetically.

"_But ma_" Jane asked, "_don't you know it? We will always need you."_ The brunette walked over to her mother and gave her a firm hug. "_Always!"_ she mumbled and felt Maura joining the hug. "That's true Angela." The blonde woman said, and jane shot her a thankful look.

In the afternoon they were headed for the precinct again. Jane realized that she was longing for some days off from work. They only had had one day free from work since coming to Boston.

She rubbed her eyes when settling at her desk. Frankie came in with a pile of paper containing all noted white pickup trucks in Boston. He split the pile into three and gave Korsak and Jane a part so that they could check the cars and their owners. Maybe they were able to find the culprits that way.

Jane sighed. There were so many, that it would take a lot of time till they were through. She was half through her pile, when Maura appeared with a tray of coffee. She had spent some time in the morgue, doing paperwork and research. But returned – as so often in the last days – with no result. So, she sat down and helped them.

The evening came fast, and they decided to grab some food on their way home. Angela was giving cooking classes at evening school. Therefore, she wouldn't be home before 10:30 pm.

They decided to go for some Indian food, joking that none of them was in for Chinese after the shooting.

"_I think, I will never eat Chinese food again_." Maura stated and Jane gave her a quick hug. When finished with dinner, the women decided to have a long and hot bath. Thanksgiving was around the corner and the weather had turned cold.

Jane slipped into the water after Maura, enjoying the warmth and the smell of lavender. When in the tub, she closed her eyes and sighed. Her eyes were tired from reading. But she was relaxed because they had been able to eliminate many people and circle some good suspects.

Jane felt tired when finishing her work the next day. Maura had gone home earlier that day, texting Jane that she was at their house and if she could come by later to help her with something. Jane drove in silence, which was rather unusual. Normally she would enjoy some good music on her ride home. But she was not in the mood today. She watched the sun go down over Boston and felt happy for her decision to move back.

She gave a thought about the last days. How she and Maura had come together. She still felt overwhelmed sometimes. But at the same time, she knew that this was exactly what she had wanted. This beautiful blonde had turned her world upside down, the moment they had met at the cafeteria. Jane had to laugh when she remembered how Maura had offered her some vitamin D, believing that Jane was a hooker.

This woman had simply blown her off her feet. And it had impressed her how Maura had taken her as she was, without prejudices. She was an incredible woman.

Her heart jumped a little as she was about to see Maura soon when she turned into their driveway. She could see some lights in the house and her friends shadow. Jane wondered what help Maura needed.

She felt excited when she unlocked the door to their home for the first time. Coming home. Even though she was tired, and she knew that there was still no furniture there. For a short moment she frowned as it dawned on her that her friend might already have put some furniture there and that she needed help to arrange it. But no, Maura wouldn't do that without giving her a say, right?

Jane relaxed as she saw that the entrance was still empty and called herself silly.

"_Maura?"_ She asked into her future home.

"_I'm here!"_ Maura shouted from the living room.

Jane walked towards her lover's voice while slipping the car keys into her pocket.

Then she stopped in the doorway and was startled.

"_Surprise!"_ Maura said smiling. "_I noted that we never celebrated so I had an idea…"_

Jane stood still, taking in the scene. Maura had lit up the chimney and some candles. The couch and coffee table from her former house in beacon hill were set up with a lot of cushions and blankets. And on the table stood a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

Normally she hated surprises, but she definitely loved this one.

She was also mesmerized by Maura's look.

"_Come on."_ Maura said gently as she came closer. They kissed and Jane felt a flutter in her stomach.

"_Wow!"_ She said, when she was able to speak again. She really hadn't expected that. She let Maura take her by the hand and lead her to the couch.

"_If I had known I would have changed into something fancy." _

Maura smiled and answered: you look gorgeous Jane and pushed a curl of hair out of the brunettes face. "_You always do."_

Jane blushed a little. "_So, I guess this is our second date ha?"_ She asked half serious, half joking.

Maura chuckled as she poured some wine. "_I think so yes."_ She replied after taking a while to think. "_My intention was rather to have a little celebration though."_

Jane took the offered glass and locked eyes with the blonde. She loved that woman.

Maura smiled and said: "_to our new home. I love you Jane!"_

Jane blushed again. They had said it before, but it still felt like a dream to hear these words.

"_To our new home!"_ She repeated. "_And I love you too Maur." _

They put the glasses together and took a sip and then kissed.

Jane sighed and let herself fall back into the cushions. It felt good to have a place of their own.

"_If I had known that this was our second date, I would have brought a U-haul."_ Maura joked, also leaning back, taking Janes hand. They both laughed.

"_How much furniture do you have in storage?"_ Jane asked.

Maura chuckled, looking into the fire. "_Well, almost everything from the house except the wardrobe."_ She said the last with a little bit of regret. Jane chuckled.

She kissed Maura's back of the hand and pulled the blonde closer. "_It's never too late to U-Haul you know?"_

"_I could organize something tomorrow."_ Maura stated in a typical Maura way.

"_That would be good"_ Jane muttered kissing her friend's forehead. She heard Maura agree.

They snuggled into each other in front of the fire and just enjoyed the moment and the closeness.

Jane softly stroked Maura, finally feeling at home after a long time. And suddenly all her tiredness was gone and she bent over to seduce the blonde.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning, she awoke to a beautiful sunrise. It was the day before thanksgiving, and she found her mother in the kitchen writing a shopping list for the family dinner.

Where's Maura she asked as she prepared for going to work.

She left early. Obviously, she had to catch up on some work. Her mother stated absently.

Jane hadn't thought to check her phone. So, she did and found a message from Maura.

_Good morning Janie, already left because I had an idea which I want to check. Do you still want to U-haul? Love you, Maura_

Angela looked at her suspicious. That woman must have a sixth sense Jane thought texting Maura back.

_Hey honey! Yes, to U-haul. Yes, yes, yes. I'm on my way to the precinct. See you soon. Love you too. Jane_

"_So, what have you been up to yesterday?_" Her mother finally asked. You came home pretty late.

"_Uhhh_", Jane replied deciding to go for a half truth. "_We had our second date, uhm spontaniously."_

Angela looked puzzled. "_Haven't you had enough dates now?"_ She asked.

"_One can never have enough dates."_ Jane replied with a smile and kissed her mother goodbye before leaving for work.

First, she went to the daily meeting in the squad room. They still hadn't found the car and its owner which could be responsible for the shooting. The longer they worked on the case the more frustrating it became and Jane thought for the first time, that this could become a cold case.

After rolling around some theories with Korsak and Frankie she took the elevator to the morgue.

She found Maura sitting in front of a microscope, silently talking to a colleague from the lab. She waited some minutes before the two were finished and the man had left. "_Hey sweetie_", she greeted Maura and gave her a kiss. "_Anything new?"_

Her friend looked up from her notes and said, that it would take a little bit more time to see if her assumption was right. Then she asked about the meeting and Jane filled her in.

"_So, I haven't missed anything important_?" Maura asked.

"_No, nothing babe."_ The brunette replied sitting down on the desk next to the microscope.

"_Good. I was so busy that I didn't realize that it was so late already._" Maura couldn't help but glance at the long legs next to her.

Jane chuckled. "_Do you have time for coffee?"_

"_Sure"_ Maura replied with a smile putting her notebook into her bag. "_Have you had breakfast?" _

Jane tilted her head. "_No, I almost overslept because I was so tired from uhm yesterday." _The brunette shrugged.

As Maura hadn't had breakfast either they decided to go and have something to eat at a nearby place.

"_I organized a moving company."_ Maura told Jane during their late breakfast.

Jane was stunned. She hadn't really believed that Maura would find someone so quick. Especially seeing that it was almost thanksgiving.

"_That's great!"_ She shouted in excitement and smiled, feeling happy that they would move so soon which meant escaping the watchful eyes of her mother_. "God, I need some privacy, like now! Mother had me cornered this morning again, asking lots of questions."_ Jane said and pulled her hand through her dark mane.

"_So do I She did the same with me by the way."_ Maura replied and chuckled. "_I will take the afternoon off and show them around." Maura_ said before shoving another piece of pancake into her mouth.

"_I'm going to talk to Frankie. I think that they can handle the case themselves today. So, I can help you."_

It was not only to help her but also to protect the blonde and Jane knew, that Maura knew.

"_Okay."_ The blonde said. "_Why don't you pick me up around midday at the morgue then?" _She asked and seemed to appreciate Janes thought. Sometimes the brunette was overprotective which unnerved the blonde. But sometimes Maura also loved her thoughtfulness.

"_I'll be there."_ Jane smiled and hopped off the desk.

Jane thought about what was going to happen when the stuff was moved. They could literally sleep in their own home tonight. She would love that. Her mother of course would be deceived. But the imagination to finally live in their own place made her excited like a teenager.

She decided to text this to Maura who almost replied instantly: _same feeling here._ With a smiling emoji.

Jane chuckled as she went to find Frankie to tell him that she would take the afternoon off. She found him at his desk looking through some files. He looked up and nodded. "_Its fine, we have it."_ He stated and told her that Korsak was in the file storage to find some case which reminded him of this one.

Jane sat down at her former desk, which she now claimed as her own again and continued to work on the pick up trucks.

She put her jacket on and took the elevator to the morgue when it was five to twelve.

Maura was just getting ready to go, greeting her with a wide smile.

Jane was surprised when finding out that Maura had put almost all of her belongings to storage. She didn't know what she had expected. In fact, she hadn't given much thought about it all. But she felt lighthearted when the hired man pulled one thing after the other into the truck. After two hours the storage room was almost empty, and two full trucks were moving down the road towards their new home.

They drove to their house and instructed the man were to put the furniture and boxes. It was almost 6pm when the movers finally left both women in a house full of chaos.

"_I think I'm up for a beer now."_ Maura said to Janes astonishment.

"_Sure."_ She replied still surprised. "_We could go and have something to drink and some food too."_

Maura nodded. "_But then we will probably not be able to sleep here tonight."_ She stated reluctantly.

"_We will see. If we can't finish today, then we move here tomorrow. But I'm hungry now. And if I don't get something to eat soon I might get very grumpy."_

The blonde chuckled. "_Yes, me too."_ She said.

They went to the bar where they had had their first date the other night. The food tasted delicious and the music was good. This time of day not many people were hanging around. In fact, there was just one other couple sitting at the bar.

At the end, after eating and feeling better, both agreed that they wanted to set the bed up and sleep at their new home.

Maura found Jane standing in between the parts of the bed. Ranting with a plan in her hand. _"Are you sure that all parts are here?_" She asked tilting her head in dismay.

The blonde nodded. It can't be that hard she noted and took the plan out of Janes hand. After studying it a few moments she said: "_uhm, äh, …"_

Jane chuckled and sat down on the floor. _"So, dr. Isles, what am I to do?"_

Maura sat down too. After a while they had it. The blonde gave instructions and Jane did as she was told.

"_See_", Jane suddenly said, "_we are a cliché. I'm the man and you are the woman."_

Maura rolled her eyes and replied, "_studies show that_…." She kept on with her monologue while Jane continued to work.

"_You're not listening to me, are you?"_ Jane suddenly heard her friend say.

"_No, I do."_ Jane swore, and both chuckled knowing that it was not true.

At the end it didn't take as long as expected, and the bed was ready at 9pm. Jane stretched while Maura made the bed. Yeah, we are such a cliché she thought and smiled but she didn't care. At least they would have a bed for the night.

Jane called her mother and told her that they wouldn't come home for the night. And she was surprised by how easy her mother took it. She had expected a drama. But her mother was all calm and reminded them to remember their first dream in their new home. Jane hung up looking puzzled.

"_Some wine in front of the fire?"_ Maura suggested and Jane accepted voluntarily. She turned around brushing her thoughts about Angela aside before leaving. She was glad, that Maura had kept all her furniture. It gave her a homey feeling as she was used to it all and as it reminded her of the good times they already had. If she would have been superstitious, she would have said that this was a good omen.

Jane remembered how many nights they had spent just talking until one of them had fallen asleep. Now it was no more asking whether the other one wanted to stay or go home. They sat in front of the fire, exhausted but also happy.

"_We still have to buy some furniture."_ the blonde mumbled in between to sips of wine entwining fingers with Jane.

"_I know"_ Jane sighed. _"But we are good for now I think."_

"_Yes, that's true."_ Maura stated and put her wineglass onto the coffee table moving her hand to Janes belly instead.

Jane also put her glass down not long after, thanking god that the next day would be a day off from work. The plan was to sleep in, then maybe get rid of some chaos before going to Angela's and help her with the thanksgiving dinner. Michelle would return tomorrow morning. So, the family would be complete by the time of dinner.

As it turned out, Kiki would be coming too. So, it was a good thing they had vacated the guestroom at Angela's.

After a long bath, they settled into bed. Jane secretly hoped that she wouldn't have to go to the toilet during the night because she would certainly fall over some boxes which were laying all around in the room.

The brunette instantly relaxed when she felt Maura's body move into her arms.

"_Not bad for a second date uh?"_ The blonde chuckled and she could feel her body relax too.

Jane laughed. "_Yes. I think we did a great job following the lesbian dating rules_."

Both burst out in loud laughter although feeling sore. Jane later lay in the dark, even though being tired. She took in all the sounds from the street and from the house and looked the shadows dancing on the bedroom wall, when a car passed by. Maura's breath became even and she knew that the blonde was asleep after a while.

Then she thought about the next day. A lot of work was waiting for them in form of unpacking their belongings. She had been so excited that she had forgotten to ask Maura about her idea and the outcome. But she guessed that if Maura had found out something noticeable, she would have told her.

When she couldn't fight the sleep any longer, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

28 Thanksgiving

When she woke up the next day, she felt Maura's eyes resting on her. She stirred a little and thought about her mother's words not to forget the first dream In the new home. She had been so tired that she couldn't remember.

"_Are you watching me?"_ Jane mumbled and heard her friend chuckle.

"_Yes. I had to."_ you look so sweet when you sleep.

Jane snorted and rolled to her side to glance at the smiling; stunning blonde woman next to her.

They snuggled a little bit until she felt awake enough to go downstairs and have breakfast.

Ignoring the boxes, she sat at the kitchen island and watched the blonde make coffee and pancakes. After the first sip of coffee she asked Maura about her idea and if she had been able to find something which would help them solve the case.

Her friend put two plates on the counter and sat down next to Jane.

"_I asked myself about the purpose of the substance in the blood."_ Maura spoke while putting maple sirup over her pancakes. _"Is it really torture? I honestly don't think so. I once read an article in a medical journal about pharmaceutical companies who were conducting illegal tests on people. So, I asked Michael from the lab for help me because I know that his bachelor work was about medical testing. One can earn a lot of money with it. An in our case the culprits would earn double, because they get money from their so-called service and money form the companies. And the best: they don't even have to look for probands."_

Jane put down her fork and looked at Maura. _"You could be right, she stated. You are a genius Maura!" _

Maura smiled. "_Thank you! But as I've said. Its just a theory so far. We still need to prove it. The next question is how the substance was brought into the body. And if it is a testing, then we need to know if the people died because of it or if they were killed afterwards to finish the job – kind of."_

"_When will you know?"_ the brunette asked, silently grinning and holding back a comment about Maura's humbleness.

Maura shoveled a piece of pancake into her mouth and shrugged. "_I hope soon. I checked the stomach content again, but the substance was not in it. Nor did I find an incision wound. So, either it's a substance which vanishes from the Stomach after a while, or the incision was brought into a place we can't check, because the bodies are burned. Unfortunately, we have no intact body."_ Maura reminded Jane.

"_Damn!"_ Jane muttered. "_This is one of our hardest cases." _

"_I'm sure detective Brook is delighted to start his career with it"_ Maura chuckled, and Jane smirked.

After putting the plates into the dishwasher both women started to arrange the furniture and Maura unpacked some boxes. As Jane didn't have much stuff there yet, she helped her girlfriend. It was an easy task and Jane teased Maura claiming that the blonde had much more stuff than she would probably ever have.

Soon it was time to shower and drive to Angela's place. Jane wasn't sure whether to feel relieved to leave the chaos or if she would rather stay, and clean up a bit more.

The turkey already filled the house with a heavenly smell when they arrived at the Rizzoli mansion. Jane and Maura first went into the living room to greet the clan. After saying hello, Maura, Michelle and Kiki went into the kitchen to help prepare the dinner. In the meantime, Jane watched a football game with her brothers. She was glad to see Tommy again, who had brought TJ, his son. Jane and Maura used to take care of him when he was a baby. After moving away with his wife, Tommy had finally returned with his son. Lydia, TJs mother had married some other guy, and left Janes brother with his son. So, Tommy was back to Boston and had opened his own little plumber business, living in Janes former flat. Frankie had told her during one of their surveillances that Tommy was very successful, and she was happy to hear that her little brother was doing so great.

At first, TJ was shy, hiding behind his father, but he finally opened up to Jane. She had no clue why, but all kids loved her. She joked with the 8-year-old and chuckled as she earned some silencing looks from Frankie and Tommy, who wanted to watch the game.

"_Let's go outside TJ."_ Jane said and helped the little boy into his jacket. Angela had bought some pumpkins to carve. Jane decided to show her nephew how to do it. She tried to sound terrifying when making a grumbling sound and the boy couldn't stop laughing at her faces and jokes.

"_You are no good at imitating a monster."_ he giggled, and Jane laughed too. "_But don't worry_", he continued, "_dad also never gets to scare me."_

"_Yes, that's because we Rizzolis are so nice. We can scare no one."_ Jane stated with a serious face, suddenly noticing that Maura stood in the doorway. "_Hey baby_!" she greeted her and held a pumpkin towards her.

"_This is my friend Maura"_ Jane introduced her to TJ. _"We used to babysit you together when you were a tiny baby._" "_Really?"_ The boy asked, less shy than with Jane. "_I can't remember that."_ The boy said and both women chuckled.

"_That's because you were so little_." Maura said and gestured the size of a baby with her hands.

He looked at them thoughtfully. "_But now I'm sooooo big!"_ he stated and put his hand over his head.

"_Yes, you are a big boy now"_ Maura stated, laughing softly at the kid.

They spend quite some time outside. Maura carved a spooky tree into her pumpkin and then they played hide and seek in Angela's garden. Jane was astonished that tj's talent to hide. She sat down on a bench as she needed a break and watched Maura playing with the boy. She knew that Maura once wanted to have children. She wondered if the blonde still wanted to have some. Did she want to have kids herself? If one had asked her a few years ago, she would have said no. children came with a lot of responsibility. Of course, they were sweet and fun too. She just didn't know if she wasn't to old for it by now.

She sighed as she felt her mothers' hand on her shoulder. "_You are a good aunt."_ she stated. Jane waited for her to comment that she needed her own children. But Angela was clearly evolving in giving her space.

"_I remember you, when you were his age",_ her mom said instead. _"You were this little tomboy, so clever, no one ever found you at hide and seek."_ She chuckled. "_I was always more worried about you then your brothers, because you were so wild."_ Jane lifted her hand and put it on her mother's which still lay on her shoulders. She apologized but her mother snorted. _"I knew that you were special the moment I held you in my arms. I know it sounds like a line from a fishy soap opera, but that's the way a mother feels I guess." _

"_I don't know if I could raise a kid_." Jane stated. _"You were great ma. But I don't think that I'm really good at that."_

Angela chuckled_. "You always give so much care to the people you love. That's the most important thing. Well, I have to admit that you cost me some good nerves."_ She chuckled again and rolled her eyes. _"But you know what? If I look at you today, I feel proud of you. You are all great and talented, and it was all worth it."_

Jane glanced to Maura who was still playing with TJ.

Angela sighed. _"I don't want to tell you that you need kids."_ She said in a soft voice. _"Of course, I wouldn't mind, but its your choice. And if you don't want any its ok, Janie. But if you don't want them because you think that you would be a bad mom, then you should think it over. Because you would make a great mother." _

Jane felt tears dwelling up her eyes. She stood to hug her mother who stroke over her back.

As Angela went back into the kitchen she sat down again. The boy and Maura were smiling and had red cheeks from the cold. Tj ran towards her, jumping like a horse, followed by the blonde who had glooming eyes.

Jane felt the urge to hug Maura and to kiss her. She went towards her. _"I love you!"_ she whispered while wrapping her arms around the small waist. The blonde pushed her away a little to look into her eyes.

"_Are you ok?"_ she asked, worried.

"_I don't know. I guess I just realized how much you mean to me and how much I need to feel you close."_

Maura furrowed her eyes. "_I love you too Jane. And If you need another hug…." _

Later that evening the family was sitting around the table. Tommy got to cut the turkey. Another brother who has grown up Jane thought. We are all getting older.

The food was delicious as usual and today it was Frankie's and Tommy's turn to wash the dishes, while the women settled down in the living room. They were sipping some wine and talking until it was time to go home.


	25. Chapter 25

The thanksgiving weekend had gone fast. Nothing new had happened and Maura was sitting in the lab with Michael scratching her head. She felt that they were still on the right track with the assumption about the illegal tests. She went through the list of medications which Michael had given her and compared it with a list of drugs that were to appear soon according to the medical journals from the last two month.

Vivaldi's four seasons were playing silently in the background as she focused on one special name: Folaclyotrocopine. It contained almost all the substances found in the last victim's body. Maura wondered if they were ever be able to give that woman a name. she hoped so. No one deserved to be buried as Jane Doe.

But there was another question on her mind: if the probands were killed, where did the riddles bury the bodies? She had seen many things in the course of her career. Bodies being buried in foreigners' graves or on a body farm – just to name some. Maybe there was a dumping spot somewhere in the woods.

She sighed when brushing her questions away and turned to another list on her desk. Women and man who had disappeared under suspicious circumstances over the last months. Some people from this list could be victims from the riddles she thought, reading through the names. She sighed one more time as she glanced over to Michael who was looking into his favorite microscope hopefully finding some new clues.

Right now he was trying to find out how the substances had come into the victims, and how they reacted in their bodies and how they deteriorated. It was still a big mystery which had to be solved.

By midday she felt very hungry and texted Jane asking if she was up for a meal. Janes reply came almost immediately containing just one word making her laugh: "_Yessssss!"_

They walked to the dirty robber in silence, their minds still focused on the riddles.

"_Just like in old times eh?"_ Jane said grinning when slipping into a booth.

Maura smiled. "_It's a shame though that Korsak sold the dirty robber. It was much nicer back then." She_ remarked pushing some breadcrumbs off the table.

"_Shame."_ The brunette repeated Maura's word with a thoughtful mind. _"Hard to believe. Its not so long that we left, and it seems like most of things we were used to are gone."_

"_Also shame that no one wants to abduct Mrs. Rover. Don't get me wrong. I don't want anything happen to her. But it's been almost a week, and nothing suspicious occurred." _The brunette added with a smirk.

Jane told Maura that they had let Bradley write the riddles, that he wanted to know if they had planned anything yet, stating that he was tired of living with his wife. And if they wouldn't act soon, he would want his money back to hire someone else.

"_He was very nervous."_ Jane said, absently playing with some left fries on her plate. _"Always rubbing his hand on his jeans, sweating and stumbling." _

"_Well that doesn't surprise me."_ Maura replied. "_He probably realized that his wife knows something and the police is on his tail all the time…. He must also fear that the riddles harm him, if they suspect that he's a snitch. Wouldn't you be scared too?"_

Jane took a deep breath_. "Yeah. Especially if I stole money from my wife to pay someone to murder her." _She chuckled_. "That would scare the shit out of me_." she joked_. _

Maura shot her a quick look when Jane said the word wife and spoke up again changing the direction. _"Maybe that's why they got so quiet, because they know, that we are close. They probably earned enough money to sit still for a long time until they feel save again."_

"_Maybe"_ Jane replied thoughtful. _"The hint with the pickup truck also led us nowhere so far. Frankie assumes that the car was stolen as well. So, he narrowed the search down to white pick-up trucks which were stolen around the time of the shooting."_

"_What about the senator?"_ Maura asked.

"_He lawyered up. And we don't get a search warrant for his house. The warrant for the telephone records was all Korsak could get. I hope that you found out something helpful, otherwise this is really going to be a cold case soon."_

Maura swallowed and then told Jane, that Michael was pretty sure, that there was some medicine testing going on because there of the substances in the blood tests they had from the victim.

"_That's good but how will this lead us to our murderers?"_ she asked frustrated.

"_You have to hire a hitman yourself."_ Maura said after some thinking.

"_To kill who?"_ Jane asked. "_You? Besides no way this is going to work, because if they suspect something and sit still, they are not going to say: Hell yeah, we kill someone for you!"_ she smirked.

"_Well, I hope that you don't want to have me killed."_ Maura stated dryly and frustrated. _"I don't know Jane. This might be one of the few cases we can't solve."_

The brunette snorted. _"Hell, of course I don't want you to get killed. Crazy woman! How would I survive without seeing your beautiful smile each morning?"_

Maura had given no further comments, although she felt flattered by the compliment. When coming back to the lab she found Michael behind the microscope still, mumbling something incomprehensible as he stared through the glasses. The blonde decided to let him do his work in peace and went over to her own working space. She pulled some medical files of some victims from the missing persons list. She would have preferred to go through the files of their Jane does. But as this lead seemed to be a dead end, she tried to find some things the missing persons had in common.

Meanwhile, Jane leaned back in her chair staring at the ceiling and let her mind drift around the pieces of the puzzle. Every time they had an evidence or a clue it vanished into nothing and led nowhere. This was just incredible. The police chief had already pulled many officers off the case hinting that the FBI could replace them if they needed more people. And Jane knew that it wouldn't be long, before the FBI also would order her back to Quantico.

Maybe Maura was right, and the riddles would disappear for a while. The case would get cold. She was sure, that the senator knew more than he told them. But he had too much to hide. So, they would need a miracle to get to the information he had.

It was frustrating when a case remained unsolved. Especially one like this. These people would never cease to kill. There would be a new website on the dark net, another name and the business would continue. Innocent people would become victims of these crazy killers.

The frustration started to get the better part of her, and Jane looked at the blue figure, which had once stood on Frosts desk. Frankie had borrowed it to her for the time she was here. Therefore, it was standing on her desk, right next to the phone.

The brunette missed Frost and his ability in the field of research. But most of all she missed joking and talking with him. On a day like today, they would have teased each other like the friends they had been. And maybe an idea would come along after loosening up.

The clock over the door was just changing to 7 pm and Jane decided to go home after texting Maura about her intentions.

"_I want to hang up a picture of Frost."_ she later told Maura in the car.

"_That's a sweet idea"_ the blonde said and gently touched Janes hand which was on her thigh. Jane focused on the street, still thinking about Frost. The scars on her hands hurt but she tried to ignore the pain through gritted teeth.

They settled in the living room after dinner. Maura reading a book, Jane lying stretched out on the couch with her feet on the blonde's legs. She almost had fallen asleep when her phone buzzed.

Jane was tempted to let the call go to voicemail, but finally decided to check for the caller ID.

It was Angela and she sounded a little bit lonely. Korsak and Kiki had gone out to celebrate their wedding day. So, Jane invited her to come over.

She was glad that Maura was ok with it. The blonde offered to open some wine while Jane was responsible for finding a good movie on TV.

„_Jane?"_ the brunette could barely hear Korsak because of the noises in the background.

"_Korsak? What's up old man?"_ she shouted louder, disturbing Maura and Angela whose eyes were glued to the TV screen.

"_Shhhhhhh!" _Maura whispered and shot her a scolding look which made the brunette move to the kitchen.

The connection was suddenly very bad and she could only hear words and pieces. "…. _House…bu.. Where… Angela?"_

The brunette glanced to the couch where her mother was sitting under a blanket, laughing at the movie.

"_Ma is with Maura and me."_ she shouted, suddenly attracting puzzled looks from the couch.

And then the connection suddenly got crystal clear again and she could hear Korsak say that she needed to come to Angela's house because it was on fire.

When they arrived at the scene the fire was already out, but Jane saw right away that it was a total loss. The roof hat crashed and there were only pieces of the walls left.

There was a letter in the mailbox, addressed to the team saying: _This is our last warning. Leave us alone or next time someone of you dies. Shame that the queen of death survived, but next time we won't be so sloppy. _

"_Of course, you can stay in our guesthouse, Angela."_ Maura said, steadying the elder woman who was shocked, realizing that she could have possibly died if she hadn't gone to Maura's and Jane's.

Maura looked over to her girlfriend who just stood and looked at the smoldering ruins.

Jane didn't talk much that evening and neither did Maura. They felt tired and sore from this case. Too many bad things had happened since they had been assigned to it. Good things too of course as Jane kept reminding herself, when pulling Maura closer that night. She felt the blondes tiny body lean against hers and placed a gentle kiss to her neck.

"_Good night, baby."_ She whispered into the darkness which filled the room, knowing that Maura was already asleep. And soon also her eyes closed, giving her mind some peace.


	26. Chapter 26

Jane woke to an empty bed, finding a piece of paper on Maura's side. _Had an idea and went to work. See you later. I love you!_

The first thing the brunette felt was anger. Some nuts were running around burning her families houses or crosses in front of them. And Maura, her beautiful girlfriend just left the house alone to go to work?

She dressed up quickly, grabbing her car key and gun in a hurry to drive to the precinct. The elevator seemed to be slower than usual as she drove down to the morgue. Jane couldn't help but feel relieved when finding Maura in her office, typing something into her Computer.

"_Jane!"_ the blonde said in surprise looking at the watch on the wall. It was only seven o'clock and the brunette was only due to work in one hour. Jane rubbed the scars absentminded but nervous. She went to Maura and gave her a soft kiss. Maura stood to hug her tight, which calmed Jane down.

"_I think I found something."_ The blonde said when their mouths parted after a second kiss. "_But I need your smart brain to tell me if it's possible or not."_

Jane nodded, sitting on the edge of Maura's huge desk. _"Tell me."_ she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The blonde bit her lip. _"I think I know who did it. I mean… I think I know one of them personally."_

The brunette looked at her closely_. "How do you know?"_ she asked gingerly raising an eyebrow.

She watched as Maura took her time, weighing every word before it could leave her lips. _"What if… "_ The blonde cleared her throat. Then she pursed her lips and said. _"Not here."_ Jane was surprised when her girlfriend grabbed her hand fiercely and dragged her out of the office to the parking lot.

It was still dark outside, and Jane tried to focus on the street as she followed Maura's directions to an isolated spot close to the river.

Jane stood close to Maura as the sun slowly started to show. She had a feeling what Maura was about to say. Dragging her out of the office could only mean one thing: the killer was one of them. And a lot of things started to make sense to her, even before the blonde mouthed it. The feeling to be observed, the first warning left in form of a package in the waiting room, the burning of the corpses so that it was impossible to find stich marks or anything else, even the drug testing story.

"_You think its one of the ME's."_ she quietly said and watched how Maura's face pulled on a painful and sad expression.

"_It does make sense, doesn't it?"_ the blonde whispered.

"_Yeah, it does make sense."_ Jane sighed, hurting because Maura hurt. She knew better than anyone about the process Maura had gone through when choosing the members of her team. How careful the blonde had been in checking and deciding.

Maura glanced at the sun, contemplating, fighting before finally giving Jane the name. It was the guy who had suggested to have a party for Maura's return. He was one of the first persons hired by Maura when she had become Chief medical examiner of the Commonwealth.

"_Just tell me."_ Jane softly said putting a strand of blonde hair to where it belonged before grabbing Maura's hand. _"How on earth did you get the idea?"_

"_The queen of the death_." She whispered, "_he wrote, shame that the queen of the death didn't die. No one uses this nickname except for the people at the precinct."_

Jane nodded after giving it a thought. Maura was right. _"But why him?"_

"_Because he was the only one who kept sneaking around my office and spying or asking after Frankie and Korsak had payed the senator a visit. And we all agreed that this is probably when he lost his source of information right? First it didn't hit me, until last night. I woke up to a nightmare and couldn't fall back to sleep. So, I started to think about Angela, the house and the note…"_

Jane nodded again hugging Maura tightly. Her mind already working on a way to check if the theory was right, and if yes, how to catch him with enough evidence to put him behind bars. The best thing would be to catch him with his partner. A plan slowly formed in her head, as the suns light hit their faces.

A lot of thoughts were running through Janes mind as Korsak and Maura followed the car of the ME in silence. the brunette drove slowly, hoping he wouldn't spot them in their unmarked vehicle. If they solved the case now, Maura would go back to Paris and she to Quantico. No matter how often the couple told each other that it would only be for three months, neither of them was happy with it.

Jane loved coming home to the blonde, sleeping and snuggling with her. Three months could be a long time. Besides wouldn't they get estranged to each other again.

She bit her lip while glancing at Maura on the backseat through the rear-view mirror. The blonde also seemed to be deep in thought. The suspect's car took a turn to a bumpy road, leading to an old farm. Korsak phoned the rest of the team as they didn't trust the normal channels. The ME might have a police radio in his car.

Jane put their own car to a halt, and three pair of eyes watched the farm closely.

The ringing of Korsaks phone announced the arrival of the rest of the team.

"_Showdown."_ Korsak murmured while Jane checked if her Kevlar vest was sitting right. Korsak shot her a serious look and nodded.

"_Let's go!"_ he spoke into the phone when Jane nodded back. She hit the gas and sped up followed by some police cars. She waited for the sound of the helicopter, which appeared as she arrived at an old barn.

"_They are running."_ A voice came over the radio. Jane ran too, seeing both suspects a little bit further down a field. Her pulse was high, pushing adrenaline through her tall body. She heard the footsteps of other officers behind her.

And then a police car appeared on the street on the other side of the field, hitting the breaks hard. Frankie jumped out of the car behind the first one and pointed his gun to the men who had no chance to move any further. Her brother gave her a thumbs up sign, while the officers handcuffed the ME and his friend.

Jane returned to the farm, finding Korsak waiting for her. He told her that he had already peeked into the old building which once used to serve as storage for hay and grains. The brunette went inside and found five people hooked to IV's. She found Maura standing next to one checking the vitals. It was Bradley, who had refused police protection and disappeared from the radar for the last two days.

It wasn't as if they hadn't searched but they couldn't find him and now they knew why. Jane stepped closer, rubbing the blondes back. "_He is dead. They all are."_ Maura said quietly. The brunette approached Maura touching her arm. _"We caught them."_ She stated. Maura bit her lip and Jane knew that she only had one question on her mind_: How couldn't she have seen it? If she had seen it earlier…_ Jane knew this cycle all too well.

"_There was no way you could have seen it, baby. Neither of us did."_ She said, putting her hand on the shoulder.

"_Well, I should have."_ Maura said fiercely, turning away to walk out of the barn. Jane stood sighing knowing that it was best to give her some space. Maura and she would talk later.

When the lots met later at the dirty robber the mood was mixed. It felt good to have solved the case, but the fact that it had been one of them was everything but satisfying_. "At least we had one last case together old man."_ Jane said and toasted to Korsak who gave her a fatherly smile. _"This was nice. Although I must admit that I feel to old for that work now."_ He replied and everyone chuckled.

Later that evening Jane prepared a bath for them. Maura felt and looked better as the shock started to wear off. Two more days, Jane thought, and they would be on different continents again. But these two days were uniquely theirs. A smile spread on her face as Maura took her space in between her legs and her arms in the warm bubbly water.


End file.
